Werewolf By Night
by Ritter
Summary: Born Jacob Russoff in Romania, Jack Russell inherited his family curse of lycanthropy.  He has been a monster and hero, crossing paths with everyone from Spider-Man to Blade to Iron Man.  Is it possible for a normal life when you are a Werewolf By Night?
1. Issue 1: Black Moon Rising

**Werewolf by Night 1**

**Black Moon Rising**

* * *

><p><em><strong>O'Sullivan's Bar &amp; Grill<strong>_

_**Downtown Manhattan**_

Jack Russell sat down on his favorite barstool and signaled to the bartender that he needed some drinks. Rory was the bartender tonight, and he knew what Jack's preferences were. It had been a hard day of work for Jack. He just wanted to relax, drink some beer, and unwind.

Jack's "condition" made it impossible to find a normal, steady job. Jack Russell was cursed with lycanthropy. Before the curse, Jack lived in L.A. with his sister, mother, and step-father. They were pretty well off, financially, and Jack had the time of his life as a rich teenager on the southwestern beaches of California.

That was, until his mother died, his curse took over, and he came under a non-stop barrage of weird happenings. He's crossed paths with almost every monster you could think of, and some you'd never think of, even Dracula himself at one point. He teamed up with, and fought against various heroes, including Iron Man, Tigra, Spider-Man, and Captain America. Jack had even joined a horror themed super-team called the Night Shift in the past. Over the years, he has gone back and forth between seeking a cure, and accepting being burdened with the beast. As it stands now, he is just plain tired of fighting the curse.

Jack has full control of being able to transform into a werewolf with the exception of the three nights of the full moon. On those three nights Jack has to "go away". That led to Jack having something of an employment problem. What job would let someone disappear for three days each and every month?

At one time Jack had a pretty good set-up working as a sanitation engineer for the city. Working in the sewers, Jack was able to keep to himself and even had a place he could hide away during the three night's of the full moon. Unfortunately, Jack had been laid off a month ago.

Currently, Jack was forced to find the odd job here and there when they would turn up. That usually meant it was something other people didn't want to do. Jack had spent all day tearing up and disposing of a roof on a condemned and abandoned strip-mall. Getting paid enough to make rent for the month, _and_ having beer money left over was well worth the aggravation.

"Jacob."

Jack stopped in mid-drink as he heard the voice behind him. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, as he slowly placed his beer back down on the oak countertop of the bar. Nobody called him by his birth name. Nobody.

Jack slowly looked over his shoulder to try and find the source of the voice. Maybe they were talking to someone else. Maybe he misheard. Maybe he imagined it. Maybe..

"Jacob Russoff, I have been looking all over the city for you. You are a hard man to find."

Jack's eyes narrowed, and he involuntarily growled upon recognizing the source of the voice. Jack made a fist and his body tensed up, as he was approached by two men. "What are you doing here?" demanded Jack.

"Please, relax Jacob," said the man, who had called to Jack in the first place. The man was a couple inches taller than Jack, had short black hair and brown eyes. The man was wearing a purple suit with a black tie, somewhat overdressed for the sports bar. Jack hoped it wasn't drawing to much attention in their direction.

Behind the man, was a second person Jack didn't recognize. The second man appeared to be of Spanish or Mexican decent. He was taller, and looked to be fairly athletic. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. This man had the aura of a bodyguard or maybe hired muscle.

The man in the purple suit held up his hands and smiled at Jack. "There is no need for violence. I just wish to speak to you for a moment."

Jack knew the man in purple as Dredmund Druid. They had a brief history together. Like the majority of people Jack had a history with, it wasn't necessarily a good history. Jack had been forcibly restrained and experimented on a few years ago in Starkesboro, Massachusetts. It had been at the hands of Dredmund and a woman known as Nightshade. Dr. Nightshade, as most people called her, was a brilliant scientific mind. She was an expert with science, genetics, and werewolves.

Jack had remembered hearing Nightshade tell Dredmund that Jack's DNA contained the "most advanced" strain of Lycanthropy that she had ever encountered. Jack's blood had been used to create a new strain of "Werewolf Serum" she was famous for. Together, Nightshade and Dredmund had turned the whole town into werewolves.

Additionally, Dredmund had come into possession of an item called the "Moongem." The stone transformed Dredmund into a god-like werewolf. Calling himself Starwolf, he claimed to be man, beast, and god all in one. Dredmund was defeated, but it had taken the combined efforts of Captain America, Wolverine, Cable, Wolfsbane, Dr. Druid, and more.

"We've got nothing to talk about," said Jack, coldly, as he turned back to his beer. "You're lucky we are in a public establishment or I might be tempted to rip your throat out."

Dredmund's associate looked angry and took a step forward, but Dredmund held out his arm and signaled for the man to stand back. "It's fine Hector. I knew we wouldn't be received warmly." Dreadmund said calmly as he turned back to face Jack. "Do you mind if we sit down? I would really like for you to hear me out."

"I'd prefer if you didn't," said Jack, "but it's not like I can stop you with all these people around."

Dredmund smirked and took a seat as Hector stood behind him, arms crossed.

"Obviously, you remember the last time we met," begins Dreadmund. "On that day I experienced being one with my animal self. That feeling of power and freedom from the combining of my human mind with my animal senses was.. intoxicating. I have tried for **years **to replicate it. There was a time when I had used Nightshade's serum for a similar transformation. I had become somewhat.." Dreadmund paused, choosing his words carefully. "..dependent on it."

"Are you saying you got addicted to it?"

"Yes. However, her serum was synthetic and only mimicked the effect, temporarily. I've since run out of my supply and have been looking for a more permanent solution. I want you to help me."

"I don't think so," replied Jack. "I can't just turn people into werewolves. It's happened in the past, but it seems to be "unluck of the draw" for who does and doesn't get infected. It never turns out good in the end anyway."

Jack's mind drifted back to his clashes with a biker gang known as the Braineaters. Most of the membership of that gang was made up of people who had been accidentally transformed by Jack in the past. All of them are now either dead, or de-powered by Ghost Rider. There was no way Jack would ever **purposely** inflict his curse on anyone.

"You misunderstand me," explains Dredmund. "I have already devised a method to regain my own merging of beast and man. Recently, I have devoted myself more to mystic studies, hoping to find the answer there, where science had failed me. I already have my own transformation ready to be implemented. I need your help with something else. I've found an isolated town in Alaska. Less than 1,000 people live there. This will be perfect for an exodus."

"An exodus?" asked Jack. "For who?"

"For us, Jack. And those like us. Lycanthropes."

"You said you weren't a werewolf."

"Not yet, but I will be soon. It is my destiny. I want to start a haven, a sacred sanctuary where we can be free. Isolated from humanity while together with our brothers and sisters. I can set you free Jacob. Come with us and be as you were meant to be. Don't hide from the beast inside you, embrace it.

Jack remained silent as he finished the rest of his beer.

"Nope, still not interested. Good luck with your "werewolf utopia" but I'm not going to have any part of it. What I'm going to do, is stay here and try to pretend I have a normal life. I'm not getting suckered into any more insane bullcrap if I can help it. Have you been listening to yourself? "I can set you free." "It is my destiny." "I will merge my beast and man". You can go merge your beast and man out in Alaska far away from me."

Dreadmund looked at Jack with disappointment painted on his face. "I see the potential for great things within you. It was my hope that you would stand by my side as I lead our kind to a golden age. You need to be released from your mundane human existence Jacob, I hope someday you will realize that."

Dreadmund stood up and walked out of the bar. Hector followed him, but turned and looked at Jack before leaving.

"You made the wrong choice, vato." said Hector, sternly, before leaving with Dreadmund.

Jack watched the duo leave and then turned back to his drinks. There were already several empty bottles before him. Somehow, he suddenly felt like drinking a hell of a lot more. Every time Jack came close to thinking he could have a normal life, something like **this** happened and reminded him otherwise.

It was almost as if he not only had lycanthropy, but also two additional curses to contend with. Phenomenally bad luck, and being a weirdness magnet. Never a dull moment..

"Hey," came another voice. This time it was female. "Do you mind if I join you?"

Jack looked up once more to see a woman with dark raven hair standing next to him. Jack cautiously looked her over and then tilted his head at the barstool next to him. The woman sat down and ordered a beer of her own.

"I'd ask if you wanted me to buy you a beer," she offered, "but it looks like you're pretty well covered in that department."

Jack glanced at the collection of drained beer bottles and smiled. "This is nothing. I'm just getting started."

"You can handle your liquor, I see."

"I don't want to brag, but I've won almost every drinking contest that I've ever been in."

Beer didn't affect Jack as it did most people. Jack's lycanthropy afforded him rapid healing and resistance to sickness and poisons. Jack's body considered alcohol as a poison, fighting off it's effects as soon as it entered the body. It was hard for Jack to drink enough to get "drunk". Hard, but not impossible, it was something he had mastered over the years.

"I've seen you in here quite a few times," said the woman. "I always wanted to talk to you, but I never spotted a good opening. I saw you talking to your friends and when they left I thought it might be a good time to finally make my move."

Jack grunted. "Those guys weren't my "friends". The guy in the suit was just a person I met a long time ago. He tried to sell me on something, but I wasn't buying. I told him to take a hike. Honestly, I thought maybe they sent you over here to work me over some more. Maybe they thought a pretty face would get me to change my mind."

"You think I'm pretty then?" teased the woman.

"You're more attractive than anyone else I've seen in here, to be honest with you. That's part of the reason I thought "they" sent you. I mean, why would someone like _you,_ waste your time talking to someone like _me_?"

"There's just something about you. I don't know what that something is, but I feel drawn to you. Like it's an animal attraction or something."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you aren't with those other guys?"

"No, I've never seen them before in my life. My name is Tessa."

"Well Tessa, my friends call me Jack."

Really, everyone called him Jack, friend or not. It was still bothering him that Dredmumd kept calling him Jacob. Just remembering the sound of being called by that name caused Jack's hair to stand on end.

"Jack. Yeah, you look like a Jack. I've seen you in here a lot, but you always seem to be alone. Honestly, just now is the first time I've noticed you talking to anyone besides the bartenders."

"You could say I'm something of a lone wolf. I tend to keep to myself. If you noticed, those guys were talking to me more than I was talking to them."

"I'm not bothering you then, am I?" asked Tessa.

"No. _They_ were, but you're not. Believe it or not, being flirted with is not something that happens every day. Then again, I don't really get out much.

"If you don't get out much, maybe we should change that. Since you think I'm pretty, maybe I can repay your compliment by taking you out sometime. We'll do something fun. You look like you could use some fun in your life. No offense."

"No, I'm not offended," assured Jack. "You're absolutely right. I could use some fun in my life. So yeah, we can do something together one night. Just let me know. I'm looking forward to it."

Tessa smiled. "Me too. You have no idea how happy you just made me."

* * *

><p>Some time later, Jack was walking down the streets on his way home. Jack zipped up his leather coat as the wind intensified. It had been a nice day when he was done with work, so he walked to the bar instead of driving his motorcycle. Now he was wishing he had paid more attention to the weather report. Jack had a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth as he shuffled down the street with his head down, lost in his own thoughts.<p>

_"I don't know why I agreed to meet up with Tessa," _Jack thought to himself. _"Why didn't I just brush her off and pretend I wasn't interested? I have the worst track record when it comes to relationships. Topaz, Sybil, Martine, Roxanna. If my track record holds up, there is no way I am ever going to have a "normal" or "healthy" relationship. Bad things happen to people who get close to me. But, there was just something about Tessa. I can't put my finger on what it is.."_

Jack stopped walking and stood still. His gaze meets with Dredmund, who was standing in his path. Dredmund no longer wore a fancy suit and tie, but rather was dressed in ceremonial purple garb. The costume itself was a purple body suit with black trim and a purple cape. A belt with several egg shaped devices attached to it ran around his waist. A black headdress with long, thin horns completed the ensemble.

"The crazy ones and their costumes," joked Jack, rolling his eyes. "Even back when I did play hero, you never saw **me** running around wearing brightly colored pajamas, or having a mask with a large "W" or it, or slinging a shield with a wolf logo on it. I never understood the whole allure of the costumes. I mean, not that I ever complained about Spider-Woman and Tigra's costumes, or lack thereof.

For several moments Dredmund stood silently, just looking at Jack was an emotionless gaze.

It was impossible for Jack to read Dredmund's mood. _"Was he pissed off? Was he trying not to laugh? Were his feelings hurt? Somebody must have pointed out to him before this moment that he looked like a demonic Grimace from McDonald land." _

"I need you," said Dredmund. There wasn't any emotion in Dredmund's voice. He was almost robotic, with a pained look on his face.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone."

Jack let the cigarette drop from his mouth. It bounced off the sidewalk, bits of orange ash flying in every direction. Jack stepped on the cigarette and crushed it into the sidewalk, never taking his eyes off Dredmund.

_"Damn it," _Jack cursed at himself, _"I was so lost in thought, I didn't even notice he was right in front of me! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"_

Dredmund held out his arms. "I can't do this without you Jack."

"Buzz off, Dredmund! I'm not changing my mind. This is the only time I'm going to say this: Walk your purple-people-eater looking ass out of here right now. Don't ever let me see you again. The next time I see you, I'm going to consider it an aggressive action on your part. You understand where I'm going with this?"

"We could have ruled on high as the bones of our enemies were crushed beneath our feet. But now, I'm going to have to force you to serve me. I didn't want it to come to this, Jacob."

"Stop calling me that!" bellowed Jack, as he crouched in a defensive position. Jack hoped Dredmund would just leave so he wouldn't have to resort to becoming the wolf. Deep down, he knew it was not going to happen that easy.

Jack was trying to decide if he wanted to take the fight off the streets before or after he transformed. He didn't think anyone else was around, but you could never be to careful in this day and age. Transforming in the wrong spot could end up putting you on an internet video site.

Dredmund reached into his belt and pulled out several egg shaped objects. He hurled them at Jack's feet. Jack easily leapt back as the eggs disintegrated on impact. The acid held within the eggs started to melt the sidewalk. Wisps of smoke rose to the sky as the cement was quickly eaten away. Jack's eyes started to water slightly and his nostrils burned as the fumes entered his nasal cavity. One of the drawbacks of having enhanced senses.

"You throw like a girl, Dredmund. That didn't even come close to hitting me."

"Of course not," said Dredmund, calmly. "Because striking you was not my intention."

Suddenly, an abrupt impact to the back of Jack's skull sent him staggering forward. Jack was already disoriented from the acid fumes. Now, he was seeing flashes of light after his brain had bounced off the back of his skull. Jack fell down to one knee and looked behind him. His vision was blurred, but Jack could see a large werewolf closing in on him.

"I was simply drawing your attention away from the real attack."

Jack struggled to get back to his feet and fight back. He just needed to let the wolf out and maybe he would have a chance. Jack didn't get a opportunity to find out. The large werewolf clasped his paws together and brought down a second, more powerful sledgehammer-like blow to the back of Jack's head. Jack slowly dropped to both knees and then passed out on the sidewalk under the night sky.

Dredmund smiled at the werewolf. "You did admirably, Hector. I chose well with you. It's sad that the same can't be said of Jacob here."

The werewolf picks up Jack's unconscious body and slings it over his shoulder.

"I said you made the wrong choice, vato," Hector tells Jack. "You had a chance to be an apostle of a new god for a new world. Now, you are just going to have to serve at his feet."

Dredmund smiled. "I only hope Jacob, that you will see the light when it is all said and done. Like it or not, I am going to save you. We are hurting you for your own good, but you will thank us for it, in the end."

* * *

><p>Jack slowly opened his eyes, he had no idea how long he'd been out. He rubbed his temples and tried to bring his mind back to clarity. What happened? Had it been a full moon? Jack quickly sat up as he remembered a confrontation with Dredmund and then.. darkness. Jack attempted to stand up, but found he was trapped inside a cage. And he was naked. Also, his chest itched for some reason..<p>

Jack looked down and saw that he had deep gashes in his chest. Before passing out, Jack remembered seeing a werewolf standing over him. Were these claw marks? No, the gashes were neat and clean, almost surgical. They also ran in a rune-like pattern. Blood was pouring from the gashes at an alarming rate and with surprising quantity. Just what in the hell was going on here?

"I'm glad you are finally awake."

Jack looked backward, over his shoulder as Dredmund's voice came from behind him. Jack's eyes followed Dreadmund, as he walked around the cage while talking.

"I was hoping you would be able to see with your own eyes one of the key parts of my grand design. I also hope that this symbolism isn't lost on you. Just as you are physically trapped inside a cage, so too is your true self trapped in a cage of your own making. If I open this cage, your body will be free. But once you let your inner beast out of it's cage, your mind, heart, and soul will be free. I know I can not make you see it now, but once I become the god of this world, your eyes will be open to the truth of my words."

Jack noticed that the werewolf from earlier was standing on the other side of the room, several feet away, straight in front of Jack's cage. He was mostly tan, with black and white highlights in his fur. Most of the fur on it's muzzle and the lower part of it's face was white.

There were three other cages in the room, just like Jack's cage. The cages were in a circular layout around the room. Two other men, and one woman were imprisoned within these cages. Both men seemed fairly calm, but the woman was pressed as far back in her cage as she could cower. She sat, rocking back and forth, holding her legs to her chest. Blood was running down her legs. Jack noticed each of the other people had different designs carved into their chests.

The large room was wide open, but dank, and the air smelled moldy and stale. Lights were few and far between, hanging down from the ceiling several feet overhead. Jack reasoned that it was one of the abandoned warehouses that were in alarming abundance in New York City.

One last detail caused Jack to become more alarmed. A large pentagram was carved into the floor. It must have been nearly fifteen feet across. Four of the five points to the pentagram were positioned beneath each cage. The fifth and final point of the pentagram was at the feet of Hector, the werewolf.

Dredmund walked across the room to where the werewolf stood tall. Dredmund lifted a ceremonial dagger high into the air. He started to chant in words that Jack could not understand, before pressing the tip of the dagger into the werewolves chest. Pushing down with extreme pressure, Dredmund broke the skin. The werewolf did not flinch or waver, instead he continued to stand tall with a proud look on his face. Dredmund carved a rune-shaped design into the werewolf's chest.

"This pain will only be temporary, Hector," assured Dredmund, as he carved. "Our glory, our destiny, our empire, will live forever!

The blood quickly poured out of the werewolf's chest. It soaked his fur as it ran down his body. The blood flowed down the trenches of the pentagram. The crossing lines in the middle of a pentagram always forms the shape of a pentagon. The pentagon shape of **this **pentagram has been dug out and filled with what look to be gemstones. One large gem is in the center, with dozens of smaller ones contained in the chasm.

The blood of Hector, along with the blood of the four caged people, including Jack, flowed into the center of the pentagram. The blood mixed together, bathing the gems in a sanguine cocktail. Dredmond walked over to the bloodpool and removed the largest gem. Blood dipped off the gem as Dredmund walked over to Jack's cage. He held up the gem for Jack to see.

"Back in Starkesboro, that accursed Cable had caused me to loose possession of the moongem. I have been unable to obtain the moongem again, but instead I found an even better solution. After years of research, I have crafted my own, different and more powerful, gemstones. Powered by my mystic crafting and the combined power of your lycanthropic blood, these will be the keys to unlocking my new kingdom. My perfect world where man and beast are one."

Dredmond held the gem up in the air and shuddered with anticipation.

"It's beautiful. Now is the moment of truth. Time to test all my years of hard work."

Dredmund pressed the gem to his neck. With some effort he was able to embed the gem in his throat. His body convulsed and shuddered. Hector started to walk towards him, but he held up his arm and waved Hector back. Dredmund doubled over in pain as the change overtook him.

It looked like he was screaming, but no sound came from him. His eyes rolled back in his head as his face contorted and elongated, forming a snout and fangs. Claws burst from his fingers. His arms and legs stretched out and swelled as they became more muscular and covered in fur.

The fur was black.

The darkest black that Jack had ever seen.

Dreadmund spent what seemed like an eternity crouched on the floor in silence. He then stood up at full height, towering over Hector. Dredmund held up one of his paws and inspected it in the illumination of the skylight. He looked down at his newly transformed body and began to laugh.

"Magnificent!" yelled Dredmund. "Once more I am man and beast. Soon, I will regain my mantel of a god as well! I'm sure you are familiar with a blue moon, Jacob?"

"Of course I am. When you are inflicted with this condition, you sort of become an expert on the lunar cycle. A blue moon is when two full moons fall in the same month. Thankfully, it doesn't happen very often. That's where the term "once in a blue moon" comes from."

"Very good. Now, do you know what a black moon is?"

Jack sat silent for a moment. "Maybe I shouldn't have used the term "expert". I don't think I've ever heard that term before."

"It's two new moons in the same month," said the man inside the cage to Jack's left.

Dredmund smiled with pride. "I'm impressed! I didn't think any of you would know the answer. You are correct, and a black moon is just as rare as a blue moon. But nobody cares about a new moon, do they? Here is something none of you know: any magic worked during the period of a black moon is deemed to be especially powerful. This is the only time I will be able to perform the ritual that will grant me godly powers that far overshadow those of the Stargod! The black moon happens very soon and you are all going to be my guests when I perform the rite of ascension."

Dreadmund turned towards Hector. "Prepare our friends for transport. Then join me in preparing our other subjects for enlightenment."

The onyx hued werewolf, Dredmund, walked out of the room as Hector turned towards the collective captives with a fang filled grin.

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><p><em><strong>Next Issue<strong>_: Jack is in rough shape, and the road isn't going to get any smoother. Naked, mutilated, and exhausted, Jack has to confront shades of his past reflected back at him in one of his companions. Meanwhile, Dredmund starts to lose control of his schemes as he finds out it's not going to be as easy as he thought to become a god.

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><p><em><strong>Bark at the Moon:<strong>_

Hello, dear reader. This is the moment when I talk to you directly. I've wanted to do something with Werewolf by Night for a long time. I don't want to take up to much space in this section, but I've got something I want to do. First of all, answer the impending "It's not in first person?" question. All the solo Werewolf by Night comic book series have been done from Jack's point of view, and the two of the three fanfiction authors that I've seen do WBN (Mike McGee & Chris Munn) have used first person, very effectively. I've gone back and forth with myself over this and ultimately decided on third person as a personal stylistic choice, plus I don't think I could do a whole series in first person justice. I probably will, however, do a Giant Size or Annual style story from the first person view.

Next time, I'll tell you my three favorite Werewolf by Night arcs.


	2. Issue 2: The Beast In Us All

**Werewolf by Night #2**

**The Beast In Us All**

_by Alexander Ritter_

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><p>"So.. maybe we should get to know each other better? I think we're going to be together for a while."<p>

Jack Russell glanced over at the source of the voice, originating from a naked man with dark hair, sitting inside a cage to Jack's right. Several hours had passed since Jack and three others had been loaded into the back of a semi truck bound for Alaska. Everyone was in their own cage and all were still naked.

The man with the dark hair looked around at his companions. "Should I start? How about I go first, the rest of you can join in whenever you want?"

The man in the cage to Jack's left grunted in annoyance.

"Maybe some of us were enjoying the silence?" suggested the man. He had light hair and looked to be the oldest.

"The silence is driving me crazy. I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time together, so we might as well get to know each other, right? What do you think, friend?"

Jack noticed that the young man directed the question at him.

"I'm not your friend," said Jack.

The young man turned to look over at the cage that contained the lone woman of the group. "How about you? What do you think?"

She had her back turned to the group, and was sitting down with her legs hugged to her chest.

"You're wasting your time with that one," said the older man. "She hasn't said one word the whole time. You'd have better luck talking to the wall."

"Fine. I guess I'll go first then," said the younger man. "My name is Kevin and I'm a werewolf."

"What is this?" scoffed Jack. "A $#%ing alcoholics anonymous meeting?"

"Judging from the smell, you should consider going to a few," said the older man.

"As I was saying," continued Kevin, ignoring Jack and the old man, "several years ago I was on a camping trip with my wife. We were attacked by a wild animal. At least, that's what I thought at the time. My wife was killed in the attack. I managed to chase the animal away after bashing it's brains in with large rock. I almost didn't survive my injuries. I was in a coma for a couple of days, when I woke up, they told me my wife had died."

Kevin paused for a moment to collect himself. He still had a hard time containing the emotions that rise up when he relives that moment.

"Afterwards, I went home and tried to rebuild my life. The doctors told me they didn't think I would have ever woken up from that coma, they said it was a miracle it only lasted two days. My injuries healed incredibly quick after I returned home. A few nights later, I started having blackouts. I'd have these weird dreams about running in the forest, then I'd wake up the next morning naked in the park. It didn't take me long to put the puzzle together and figured out what happened."

"How did you end up here?" asked Jack.

"When I figured out my condition, I spent years learning everything I could about werewolves, becoming something of an expert on lycanthropy. I devised a way, with a combination of holistic medication and metaphysical meditation, to control myself during the full moon. When Dredmund approached me with his offer, I was thrilled. I thought I'd be able to help people to manage their condition like I had. However, I sensed something sinister under the surface of what he was telling me. I changed my mind, then he had his buddy assault me, now here I am with all of you."

"Great," said the old man, sarcastically. "I'm locked up with a new age nutcase."

"So you saw right through Dredmund's "utopia" spin?" asked Jack.

The young man nodded. "I'm good at reading people. It's like a sixth sense, I can usually figure out what someone is all about right away."

"Oh yeah? What am I all about then?" challenged Jack.

"You? You don't trust anyone but yourself, and you're not at peace with yourself."

Jack looked at the young man in disbelief.

"Ah, what the hell do you know anyway?" sneered Jack, sitting in the back of his cage, arms crossed.

"Judging from your reaction, it sounds like he's go you figured out pal," observed the older man.

"I'm not your pal any more than I'm his friend," growled Jack.

"Would anyone else like to share?" asked Kevin. He had an optimistic tone to his voice as he looked back and fourth between his companions.

"What the hell, I'll play along," offered the older man. "The name's Holt, and I'm a werewolf. When I was a kid, I dropped out of school to get a job to help support all of my brother's and sisters, since my mom couldn't do it by herself. I eventually got married and was planning on starting a family of my own after I finished up serving in the US army."

"A couple of days before my tour of duty was over, my wife disappeared. I returned home and spent weeks trying to track her down. The police didn't turn up anything, but I found out what happened on my own. She had been attacked and "turned" by some Vampires. She wasn't my wife anymore, those #$%ers turned her into some sadistic, twisted version of the woman she once was. She wanted me to join her, but.. I killed her."

Jack and Kevin looked at the old man, listening intently to his story.

"I loved her, but I had to kill her. When I was done with her, I killed those responsible for turning her into that monster. I dedicated my life to hunting and killing vampires, killing as many as I could find. With nothing left to live for, my new mission consumed me. That's when I decided to hunt down and kill a werewolf. Something I only attempted once."

"So you tried to kill a werewolf," guessed Jack. "You found out that you bit off more than you could chew. The werewolf kicked your ass, but you survived and ended up with the curse."

Holt laughed. "Not exactly. I don't think you're going to like where this story is headed."

"You already admitted trying to kill werewolves. How much worse could it be?" challenged Jack.

"I didn't try to kill a werewolf. I did kill a werewolf," said Holt, wryly. "I incapacitated him, then skinned him alive. His pelt is still hanging on the wall of my cabin in Wisconsin. After I killed him, I ate his heart, and took his power for myself. That's how I gained this curse."

Jack was shocked. "Why in the world would you willingly do something like that?"

"I didn't give a #$% about werewolves. I hated Vampires, my personal mission was to kill vampires. I had some close calls in my day, almost didn't make it out alive. I wanted to give myself an edge. I was willing to kill one werewolf in order to turn myself into a more efficient vampire-killing machine."

Jack just shook his head in astonishment.

Holt smiled. "Dreadmund came to me, spouting that new age crap about a werewolf utopia. I told him to get the hell off my lawn. That's when he sicced his Ricky Ricardo sidekick on me. I put up a hell of a fight, trashed my whole damn house. Dreadmund got a cheap shot in, using some kind of impact grenade. Stunned me so his flunky could finish me off. Now I'm here with you guys."

Kevin glanced from Holt over to Jack. "So how about you? What's your story?"

Jack smirked. "My name is Jack Russell.."

"Like the dog?" interrupted Holt.

Jack gave Holt a dirty look. "Yeah, that joke _**never**_ gets old. Anyway, my name is Jack and I'm a werewolf. I wasn't attacked by a werewolf and I didn't eat a werewolf's heart. My family bloodline was tainted with a curse, when I turned eighteen, I started turning into a furball on nights of the full moon."

"Through the years I've had times where I was completely out of control, and other times where I was in full control. Right now, I've mastered my condition during most of the month, but have no control during the nights of the full moon. I gave up looking for a cure, settling for trying survive the full moon every month without killing anyone, or getting killed myself."

"I get the feeling that you're leaving something out," said Kevin.

"I'm leaving a lot of stuff out," countered Jack. "This could be a two week trip and I still wouldn't be able to cover everything. The important highlight is, I've crossed paths with Dreadmund before. It wasn't pleasant, so I don't know why he thought I would willingly help him. I told him to buzz off, and he didn't like my answer, now I'm here telling my life story to a group of people I've only known for less than a day. I really need a beer."

Kevin notices that the girl is kicking the bars of her cage. She is blond, and looks to be the youngest member of the group. She had been curled up in her cage for the whole trip up until now.

"That's not going to work," said Jack. "These cages are silver. If they were steel or iron, we could bust out of here. But silver makes any object "normal" to us."

Jack pointed at the rune shaped scabs on his chest. "Same reason these damn things are taking so long to heal. If it had been a normal knife, instead of silver, we could heal the cuts quickly."

The girl sighed and stopped kicking the cage. She leaned back and looked over towards the three men. "My name is Alice," she began, "and I'm a werewolf."

"She can speak!" exclaimed Holt, with mock surprise.

"Can it, jackass," snapped Jack. "I want to hear what she has to say."

"I don't know why I am the way I am," said Alice. "I think I was just born this way. One morning I woke up and my husband was dead. His throat was torn open, one of his arms was missing, his stomach had been ripped apart, and there was blood all over me. I couldn't remember what happened. Not exactly anyway. "

"In my mind I saw flashes and shadows of what happened. I spent the whole day locked in my bathroom, curled up in the bathtub, praying to wake from the nightmare. The next night I lost control again. I woke up the next day and found out that "the beast" had finished it's "meal." It had dragged my husband's half eaten carcass into the bathroom and finished him off. That was my first time."

All three men stared at Alice, as they tried to come to terms with what she just told them.

"My husband is one of the thousands of unsolved missing persons cases. I've spent the last couple of years locking myself inside a mausoleum every time the full moon rises. I hate the wolf and I want nothing to do with it. When Dredmund came to me, I told him in no uncertain terms that I was only interested in a cure. I tried to run away from him, but as you can see, that didn't work out so well."

"I think I liked it better when she didn't talk," said Holt.

"I noticed something," observes Kevin. "Alice, Holt, and myself are all widows. For each of us, it's either because of, or leading to, our curse. Is that what you left out of your story?"

"I've never been married," said Jack. "I've had some bad relationships but.." Jack trails off as he goes through the list of past relationships and realizes he does have something in common with these people. There is a story he could tell them, but he's not ready to share it with anyone. Not yet, anyway.

"You got real quiet there, Terrier," said Holt. "Something you want to share with the rest of us?"

"It's not really any of your business," retorted Jack.

"Whatever it is, it can't be any worse than Alice turning her husband into a buffet," offered Holt.

Alice looked despondent and crawled back to the far side of her cage. She pulled her knees to her chest and started to cry.

Jack shook his head. "You're a real piece of work, you know that Holt?"

"So I've been told."

"I think show-and-tell time is over," said Jack.

Holt shrugged and sat back in his cage. The group continued their trip in deafening silence.

* * *

><p><strong>Yakutat, Alaska<strong>

Dredmund Cromwell and Hector Perez walked down the streets of Yakutat, visiting every resident of the town, one at a time. The door to door mission had taken the better part of the day. Dredmund was once again wearing a deep purple suit and tie, while Hector was dressed in a black t-shirt with blue jeans.

"I'm getting tired of having to hide in this fleshbag form," complained Hector.

"It will not be much longer," assured Dreadmund. "Cease your annoying whining. We can't have you parading around in your true form until we have converted the entire town. Once the pack is complete, we will be free, and there will be no need for any of us to hide in this form ever again. But until then, we have to blend in. There aren't a lot of people left to convert, our journey is almost at an end."

Dredmund and Hector walked up to the next house. Dreadmund knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, a woman opened the door and peered outside at the pair. Dredmund smiled.

"Hello, Miryam. I would like to talk to you today, about allowing your savior to set you free."

The woman shook her head. "Only my step-mother calls me Miryam! Everyone calls me Mary, thank you very much. I'm already set with my religion, I'm not planning on switching. If you've got a pamphlet, I don't want it."

Mary began to shut the door, but Dredmund blocked it with his foot.

"I can set you free."

Mary looked angry and opened her mouth to complain, but froze once her eyes meet with Dreadmund's. She slowly opened the door and allowed Dreadmund and Hector to enter her home.

"See now?" asked Dredmund in a soothing voice. "That was easy. I can save you, Miryam. I can set you free. I will make you greater than you can imagine."

Dredmund reached into a satchel that Hector was holding, pulling out one of the gemstones he had empowered with werewolf blood. He pressed the gem into Mary's throat. The gem becomes embedded in her neck and glowed with a faint light. Mary started to shake and convulse as the werewolf transformation overtook her.

Suddenly, a man walked into the room. He was shocked to see two men in his house, and a large wolf wearing his wife's dress.

"What the hell is going on in here?" he managed to shout.

"Christopher," said Dreadmund, calmly, as he started to walk towards the man, holding up a reddish colored gem. His smile sent a chill down the man's spine. "I would like to talk to you about allowing your savior to set you free.."

* * *

><p><strong>Several miles outside the Yakutat city limit.<strong>

The driver of the semi truck had pulled an all night drive. He should have stopped to take a nap at some point. He had talked himself out of stopping, reasoning that Dreadmund was very demanding, and his cargo was just to dangerous. The sooner he finished the delivery and put his cargo in someone else's hands, the better.

The driver's vision started to get blurry. He shook his head and tried to re-focus on the road. A few seconds latter, he started dozing off again. The loud noise and sudden vibration of the highway "rumble strips" snapped him back to consciousness, making him swerve back onto the road. He was relived to have survived the close call, when a herd of caribou ran across the road. The driver jerked the wheel to avoid hitting the caribou, but he turned to sharp, causing the semi to jackknife and tip over.

In the back of the semi, all of the cages were violently tossed about as the semi flipped and rolled down the highway. The back doors of the semi broke open, forcefully ejecting Jack and his companions. The cages rolled and bounced down the highway, as sparks flew from the sliding semi. The chaos ended as the semi slowed to a stop, and the cages came to their own resting points along the highway.

"What the hell just happened?" yelled Jack.

"Now I know what a sock in a washing machine feels like," quipped Holt.

Jack noticed that the chain holding his cage door shut has been broken. Jack kicked the door open, and walked out onto the road.

"It feels good to stretch out. It was really cramped in there."

"How about helping the rest of us?" demanded Holt.

The door to Kevin's cage has been broken open. The bars on Alice's cage have been bent enough that she was able to squeeze out between them. Holt's cage seemed to be, unfortunately, mostly intact. With the remains of the semi burning brightly only a few feet away, Jack and Kevin tried to bust open Holt's cage.

"The door, the chain, and the lock are all still in great condition," observed Kevin.

"How about back here?" asked Jack. "These bars on the back side are sort of mangled. Do you think you can get out this way?"

"Not a chance," said Holt. "Maybe blondie over there was able to wiggle out of her cage, but I'm to big."

"We can't bend these silver bars any wider either," said Jack. "How about we try pushing it somewhere safe and figure out how to open it later, when we're not standing next to a ticking time bomb?"

"It's the best plan we've got right now," agreed Kevin.

"Well quit jabbering about it, and get me out of here before I get flame broiled!" demanded Holt.

Kevin and Jack tried to push the cage, but it doesn't budge. Jack transformed into his werewolf form, Kevin followed suit. They tried pushing it again, but don't have any better luck. They could get it to move just a little bit, but at the rate they moved, it would take several minutes before they had it in a safe range.

"Should it be this hard to move?" wondered Jack.

"If it was some other kind of metal, we could just lift it up and carry it. It's silver, so our enhanced strength is useless. To us, it's a "normal" heavy duty cage, like you said before. Plus, the cage isn't sliding because it's getting stuck to the melting tar of the road!"

"We're almost getting it to move. Alice! Come over here and help us!" yelled Jack.

Alice shook her head. "No."

"No?" repeated Jack. "What do you mean "no"? Holt is going to blow up if we don't move this cage! We've almost got it, we need you to help us!"

"I can't!"

Holt grabs the bars of his cage and yelled at Alice. "Get the #$% over here and save me! I'm not going to die like this!"

"You don't understand!" Alice yelled back, with tears in her eyes. " I can't let the beast free by choice, I won't! I'm sorry!"

Alice turned and ran away into the woods.

"Are you guys just going to stand there gawking after her, or are you going to save my bacon?" demanded Holt.

"Maybe if we try and "roll" it inside of sliding it?" suggested Jack.

Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted from the semi. The flames rose higher and got closer to the cage. Bits of flaming debris came raining down from above.

"That's it," said Kevin. "The gas tank is about to blow! There is nothing we can do now."

Holt closed his eyes and sighed. "It's fine boys. I know you two tried everything you could. You gotta save yourselves. Just promise me you'll get a good shot in on Hector for me, ok?"

"Yeah, you got it," agreed Jack. "I'll give him a good one, just for you."

Jack and Kevin bounded off towards the forest just as the semi's gas tank exploded. Holt was coated in gasoline and started to burn. His lycanthrope healing abilities tried to heal the burns, but they couldn't heal the flesh faster than it was burning away. It healed just fast enough that Holt's agony of burning alive was prolonged far beyond what it should have been.

Kevin and Jack entered the woods and found Alice sitting there, holding her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the sound of Holt's screaming.

Jack shakes his head at Alice. "I can't believe you refused to help save him. He could still be alive right now, if you would have helped us!"

"You don't know what you were asking me! I can't let the wolf out. I can't control myself, bad things happen when the wolf comes out."

"Worse than a man burning alive?" asked Jack.

"You don't know what it's like."

Jack grabbed Alice and made her look at him in the eyes. "I don't know what it's like? You think I don't know what it's like to be out of control? You think I don't know what it's like to hurt the ones I love? You think I don't know what it's like to hate myself for something I didn't choose? I've been through hell and back more than once, don't tell me that I don't know what it's like!"

Alice pushed Jack away.

"Hey come on man," said Kevin, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder. "I know we're all stressed out, but give her a break. She's new at this. She's scared."

Jack remembered what it was like for him, when he first had to deal with the challenges of being a werewolf. Jack had been a scared kid trying to deal with the consequences of having an uncontrollable beast trying to burst out of his skin, but he had people to help him in those times. His sister, his step-father, his friends Topaz and Buck. Alice had nobody to help her, she had been dealing with this darkness by herself the whole time.

"I'm sorry. Listen, I really do know what you are going through, Alice. I'm going to tell you this from experience, there is going to come a time when you have to let go of your fears if you want to survive this. I was scared to, but I'm here today talking to you, because I got though all those dark times. Kevin and I will be right here to help you, ok?"

Alice nodded her head.

"The first thing we are going to have to do, is find civilization. We can decide on our next move from there. We'd cover more ground faster if we.. you know.." Kevin looked at Alice, leaving it unsaid that being in lupine form would be much faster than traveling in human form.

"That's not going to happen," said Alice. "I'm not ready yet. You two can go ahead and leave me behind if that's what you want to do. You don't have any obligation to me."

Kevin looked at Jack to see what he wanted to do.

"We're not leaving you behind," said Jack. "We can just walk together for now. That's fine."

Kevin motioned towards the highway. "I think it would be best to stay off the main road for now, the three of us running around naked is gong to draw to much attention. We can just stay on the inside edge of the forest and follow the highway. "

The trio began their journey, walking off into the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Yakutat, Alaska<strong>

Dredmund and Hector arrived at city hall, where the entranced citizens of Yakutat have gathered.

"This is a grand sight," said Dredmund. "My first congregation of disciples. They will witness my ascension to godhood during the black moon. Then, with that power in my possession, we will be able to spread the gift of the wild throughout the world!"

Behind Dredmund, Hector was talking on a cell phone. Hector had a concerned look on his face as he hung up the phone. "Hey, Dredmund. I think there's a problem."

Dredmund's mood changed from elation to concern. "What is it?"

"Your chosen inner circle is on the loose. Seems there was an accident during transport. One of them is dead, the other three are missing."

"We have to find them before the black moon!"

"Ah, what do you need those guys for anyway?" asked Hector. "You've got me. You already made enough stones to convert the town. You told me that once you obtain these godly powers, you'll be able to convert people on your own, without the need for our mixed blood."

"Hector, I am grateful that your eyes have been open from the start. You are my first and most important disciple. But the rest of these chosen children are important to me as well. I want them to bear witness to the dawn of a new age. I may not be able to control their minds, but once they see what I become, their eyes will be open to my glory. They shall willingly convert and accept me, as will the world. On the night of the black moon, this world dies, and my new world will take it's place!"

* * *

><p><strong>Next Issue: <strong>

Jack and crew fail to stop Dredmund, who turns the world into werewolves. You don't think so? Well, next issue Jack and Dredmund stand side by side as allies, that is a fact. Also, there is no "Werewolf by Night # 4" being released directly after next issue, so all bets are off!

* * *

><p><strong>Bark at the Moon<strong>

_So, this time I would like to tell you what my three favorite Werewolf by Night story arcs are, so you know where I'm coming from._

_**Number 1)** Len Kaminski's Marvel Comic Present's stories in the early 90's. In issues 54 to 59 & 98, Kaminski reinvented Werewolf by Night taking him out of the 70's era and changed him going forward into the 90's. He gave Jack more control over the wolf, had him clash with Silver Dagger and Sabertooth, and introduced the Braineaters. This new look and attitude continued on in Morbius & a Werewolf by Night solo series later on. _

_**Number 2) ** Doug Moench's "Marcosa House" story, Werewolf by Night 33-37. Apparently based on a novel and movie called "Hell House", this story was Jack, Lissa, Topaz and a couple friends in a haunted house, with visions of madness and torture. It was 70's stories like this that made it a horror comic and not a hero comic._

_**Number 3)** Paul Jenkins Werewolf by Night/Strange tales in the late 90's. Really gritty and dark. I really enjoyed this run, but it was almost to cynical and depressing for my taste, AND it never got finished, so there were a lot of questions left over. I would have liked to see how everything wrapped up!_


	3. Issue 3: The Wolf Who Devoured The Sun

**Werewolf by Night #3**

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><p>.<p>

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**The Wolf Who Devoured The Sun**

by Alexander Ritter

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><p>.<p>

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"This place looks dilapidated."

Jack Russell and his two companions, Kevin and Alice, stood before an abandoned cabin in the forest. The trio had previously been caged and transported to Alaska in order to participate in a ceremony for Dredmund Druid, who was to become a Werewolf God.

The semi truck that was transporting them overturned, allowing them to escape, but not before a fourth member of their group tragically died. The survivors traveled by foot through the forest, desperately seeking shelter before finding themselves at the cabin.

"It looks fine to me," said Kevin, the young man with dark hair and glasses. He was an expert on werewolf lore, and also came off as a know-it-all.

"I spend a lot of time tearing down houses," explained Jack. "That's a job I can do just when I need the money or when it's not a full moon out. I've seen enough to know this place is in bad shape."

"We haven't even seen the inside yet," suggested Alice. She was a young woman with golden blonde hair, who hated being a werewolf. She was so frightened of it, she refused to willingly transform.

Alice walked up to the front door and knocked. "Hello? Is anyone home?"

She knocked louder, but there was still no answer. Alice glanced back at Kevin and Jack for guidance. Kevin shrugged as Jack motioned to turn the doorknob. Alice turned the handle and pushed the door open with ease, it swung open with a high pitched creaking noise. The group entered the cabin and looked around.

"It certainly appears to be abandoned," observed Kevin.

Jack opened the refrigerator. "No beer."

"At least we're sheltered from the weather now," said Alice. "We've got a place to rest for a while, maybe we can find something useful here. Then we can figure out how to get back home.."

Jack shut the door to the refrigerator. "I'm heading into town to stop Dredmund first."

"Why would you do that?"

"What do you think happens if we walk away now? Dredmund's preparing for his "ascension" or whatever he called it. Maybe he's bat-shit insane, but maybe, just maybe, he's going to gain unlimited powers. Then he's going to come looking for us. I say, we go looking for him first, and take him down before the ritual."

"You don't have to look very far," came a voice from behind Jack.

The trio turned and saw Dredmund and Hector had arrived, in full werewolf form. They were led by a female police officer.

Dredmund placed his black paw on the officer's shoulder. "You did well leading us here, my dear. Now, subdue these intruders."

A bright red light glowed on the police officer's neck, emanating from a gem Dredmund created. The officer's clothes tore, dropping away as her body transformed into that of a brown werewolf. She lunged at Kevin, knocking him back into the kitchen.

Dredmund advanced toward Alice, who backed away in terror. She tripped, falling down to the floor. Alice desperately attempted to crawl away, but Dredmund grabbed her leg and pulled her up into the air.

Jack transformed into his werewolf form as Hector ran toward him.

"I still owe you for that sucker punch back in New York," growled Jack as he rushed to meet Hector head on.

They grappled with each other, each trying to gain leverage. Suddenly, an agony filled howl cut through the cabin, followed by an inhuman gurgling sound. Everyone turned toward the source of the noise, seeing that the death rattle originated from Kevin. He had turned into a werewolf to fight off the officer, but it had not been nearly enough to save him.

Kevin's body lay on the kitchen floor, the brown werewolf crouched over his lifeless carcass. His stomach and chest had been ripped open, ribcage shattered and broken. It looked as if Kevin's throat had been torn open by a vicious bite, most of his neck was missing. The female werewolf's muzzle was deep in Kevin's chest cavity, she hungrily slurped up blood and chewed on internal organs.

"No!" yelled Dredmund, releasing Alice from his grasp.

Hector was transfixed on the cannibalistic scene, allowing Jack the opportunity to grab Alice and pull her out of the cabin. Dredmund pushed back the brown werewolf, knocking her away from Kevin's body.

"What have you done?"

The brown werewolf growled and snapped, but then calmed down as she laid her eyes on Dredmund.

"That's right. Recognize me as your alpha and obey me!" ordered the onyx werewolf.

"What happened?" asked Hector.

Dredmund shook his head. "I don't know. The mixture of your bloods must have made these transformations too powerful, the animal aspect is too strong, where a balance of man and beast is needed. I can calm her when I focus on her, but leaving her on her own, she lost control."

Hector motioned over his shoulder. "Jack and the girl got away."

Dredmund looked down at Kevin's lifeless body. "We can't lose any more of my chosen, however, the ritual can't be delayed any longer. I need the power now, more than ever, just to control my pack. The limitations of this body are preventing me from helping us achieve our full potential. When I obtain godhood, the pack will be in control, then Jacob and Alice will return of their own free will to recognize me as their savior."

Dredmund turned and walked out of the cabin, with Hector and the officer following behind him.

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><p>.<p>

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"Are you coming, or what?"

Jack glanced back at Alice, who was struggling to keep up as he sprinted through the forest. She sat down on a log to catch her breath.

"I'm tired," she said. "And cold."

"If we don't keep moving, you're also going to be dead. It's starting to snow harder now, judging from the clouds, we're about to get hit by a blizzard."

The wind blew harder, the trees swayed in the wind as the pair was pelted by the stinging kiss of ice pellets blown at high speed.

"Alice, We're not going to make it! You have to change."

"No!"

"Do you want to freeze to death? You're going to _die_ if you don't change, do you understand? I'll be right here, nothing bad is going to happen. I promise"

Alice looked at Jack, as he held out his hand.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"I know. I was too, once."

Alice's eyes told Jack that she finally relented. Jack shifted to werewolf form, and held Alice's hand as she too turned into a werewolf, with golden fur.

"See? Everything is fine. Just concentrate on staying calm, and follow me."

They traveled on through the forest, looking for shelter. They eventually found a cave, and went inside to shield themselves from the storm. Jack sat down in the back of the cave, leaning on the stone wall. Alice laid down next to him, and Jack held onto her hand as she fell asleep.

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><p>.<p>

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**O'Sullivan's Bar & Grill**

**Downtown Manhattan**

Tessa had spent the day watching the bar's big screen TV, while enjoying some of the best grilled catfish in all of New York. Rory came over to her table with a beer.

"I didn't order another beer."

Rory motioned behind him, toward a man sitting at the main bar. "Complements of that gentleman over there."

"Right, one of the many perks of being pretty. The occasional drink I never asked for. I _was_ about to leave, but I guess I'll finish this and then be on my way."

"You're not going to invite that guy over to your table?"

"No. I'm not interested in flirting right now, I've set my sights on someone already. I've got a good feeling about Jack, and if everything works out he might just be the one to make my dream come true."

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><p>.<p>

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"Hey, wake up."

Alice opened her eyes to see a hulking brown werewolf standing above her. She started scooting backwards, then glanced down and saw her golden hued paws. She started to remember everything. Jack Russell, the exploding semi, the fight in the cabin, the blizzard.. everything.

"It wasn't a dream. It all happened."

"You slept the day away. We're running out of time now, we need to get moving again."

Alice hesitantly reached up and accepted Jack's hand. He pulled Alice up to her feet and they left the cave together. They continued walking in the same direction as the previous night, eventually coming upon a town.

"This has to be the right place. Dredmund said there weren't any other towns around for miles."

The town appeared to be almost abandoned, however there were a small number of werewolves walking down the street. They each had a glassed over look in their eyes as they walked right past Alice and Jack.

"Nobody is even looking at us. It's like we're invisible or something."

Alice walked next to one and waved her paw at him, but he don't respond. She stuck out her tongue at another werewolf, and again, no response.

"It's more like they're hypnotized or something," said Jack. Jack and Alice noticed the sparse parade of werewolves were all walking toward a large hill in the distance, and it looked as if there were several more already gathering over the crest of the hill. "I can't see what's on the other side of that hill, but it looks like that might be the place to find Dredmund."

A voice called out to Jack from off to the side. "You're right, he's been up on the mountain for hours, preparing for the ritual. To bad for you, you'll never make it there, vato."

Jack and Alice turned to see the werewolf Hector. He walked over to the pair, as he continued talking.

"The gathering has already begun. Everyone is on their way to witness the birth of a new god, and Dredmund wanted all three of us there to witness it."

"So, you're going to try and force us to go there with you."

"No, I'm going to kill you. See, I'm the only one who willingly followed Dredmund from day one. I deserve to be his main disciple, the chosen one. But he wants _you_ instead."

"Hey, I'm not competing for the position," said Jack. "It's all yours."

"As long as you're around, he's always going to look at me as second best. I'm going to tell Dredmund that you were out of control with rage, and I had no choice but to put you down."

Hector bared his fangs and leapt at Jack, knocking him backwards, through a wooden fence. Both werewolves scrambled back to their feet. Jack swung at Hector with a clawed swipe, but Hector ducked, coming up with a series of punches to Jack's body. Jack growled and swung a few more times, but Hector moved his body backward, easily dodging the swipes. Hector started to laugh as he became more and more confident.

"You think you can defeat me? I'm Hector Perez, one of the most feared and respected fighters in all of Guadalajara!"

Jack kicked Hector in the groin, causing the werewolf to double over in pain.

"I'm Jack Russell, not above fighting dirty."

Jack brought the point of his furry elbow down on Hector's snout, causing Hector's eyes to water. Jack picked Hector up, and slammed him onto the broken fencepost that was sticking out of the ground.

Jack punched and pounded on Hector's body, impaling him further and further down the fencepost. Hector was eventually pounded all the way to the ground, with three feet of post protruding from his chest. Hector looked at Jack and smirked.

"You're still too late. Dredmund has started the ritual, and you won't be able to stop the dawning of a new age. At least in my death, I managed to delay you long enough for Dredmund to complete his task."

Hector closed his eyes as his body became limp, a lake of blood forming under his body.

"Unbelievable. This guy is so full of himself, that even when I beat his ass, he still found a way to make himself the one who came out on top."

"I'm sorry I didn't help. I was afraid I'd lose control and start attacking you too."

"It's fine. It worked out in the end, this time. Next time we might not be so lucky, so be ready to help me with Dredmund. I don't care if Hector thinks it's to late, I'm still going to try and stop him."

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><p>.<p>

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Dredmund Druid stood waist deep in an ice cold river. Upstream, his newly transformed and blindly loyal followers waited for his command.

"Now, my children, now is the time! While the Black Moon is at an apex! NOW!"

The werewolves began to rip and tear into themselves with their claws. The river became soaked in blood from the orgy of self-mutilation. The sanguine wave washed past Dredmund as he held his gem down in the blood surf. He lifted the gem, now a deep crimson hue, holding it triumphantly in the air.

"As the blood sacrifice of a hundred wolves takes place, the rise of the deity will commence!"

Jack and Alice arrived at the edge of the river just in time to see the whole gruesome scene unfold.

"Ok, here's the plan. Since I'm stronger, but you're faster, I'm going to try and hold Dredmund while you get the gem away from him."

"I don't know if I can do this, Jack."

"If we don't act right now, we're going to be in deep shit."

Dredmund was about to place the gem to this throat, when Jack lunged, catching him off guard. Alice hesitated for a moment, then used her powerful leg muscles to launch herself across the gap, snatching the gem from Dredmund's grasp as she leapt over his head.

"No! What are you doing?" roared Dredmund. "You're ruining everything!"

Jack grabbed Dredmund in a bear hug to immobilize him. "That was the plan!"

Dredmund became enraged and tried to break free, but Jack was too strong in his werewolf form. Alice held up the gem against the night sky and gazed at it.

The gem changed in color, from deep red to a sky blue.

Alice smiled. "Jack, can you hear it?"

"Hear what? What are you talking about?"

"It's beautiful. It's singing to me.

"Alice.. put the gem down."

Jack dropped Dredmund, reaching to snatch the gem away from Alice, but it was too late. Alice pressed the gem to her throat. A shockwave of blue energy discharged from Alice's body, knocking Jack backward.

Surrounded in blue light, Alice started to float in the air, her golden fur changing into a light blue hue. Alice's eyes opened, and they were not her own. She howled and then began to speak in an otherworldly voice.

**_"At last, I have returned to this world! Now I shall devour the sun and bring a glorious age of eternal night!"_ **

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><p>.<p>

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**Afghanistan**

**Vic Marcus, Warwolf**

Vic was finishing a meal in the army mess hall. Some of his companions were in the middle of telling a wildly inappropriate joke, when Vic dropped his tray of food and leapt to his feet, looking around wildly.

"Holy shit, Vic! What the fuck was that all about?"

Vic slowly looked around the mess hall. Everyone was staring at him. He picked up his tray and sat back down, mumbling an apology.

"Are you alright? You can't be freaking out like that, you're going to end up with a psych evaluation."

"I probably need one," replied Vic. "Judging by the lack of reaction from the rest of you, I assume nobody else heard a loud howl?"

His companions all looked at each other and shook their heads.

Vic sighed.

"I'm probably under too much stress," he lied. "I just need to get some extra rest and I'll be fine."

Vic headed back to the barracks. He knew he wasn't crazy. He had heard an overpowering howl, and he knew it meant trouble.

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><p>.<p>

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**Manhattan, Just outside Mutant Town**

**Rahne Sinclair, Wolfsbane**

Rahne jogged though the park, when she suddenly skidded to a halt and looked around. She could have sworn she heard something..

A howling.. reverberating in the air. She tilted her head to the side and listened, but her enhanced wolf senses didn't pick out anything unusual.

Rahne shook her head and continued on. It must have been her imagination. But still, thinking about the howl sent a shiver though her body.

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><p>.<p>

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**Asgard**

**Hrimhari, the Wolf Prince**

Hrimhari stood at the edge of Asgard's enchanted forest, gazing up at the sky. A tan wolf, smaller than Hrimhari, trotted up behind him.

"Does something trouble thee, my prince?"

"Nay. Tis nothing. For but a moment I thought I sensed... something.. on Midgard."

The young wolf laughed. "Odin or Heimdall may be able to sense events of Midgard, but even though thy are descended of Fenris himself, thy do not have senses that keen."

"Perhaps my senses are not that keen, perhaps the thing I sensed on Midgard was so powerful, it caused me to feel its presence even here in Asgard."

"Do not tease me with such tales! I shall have nightmares for a fortnight!"

Hrimhari laughed as he returned to the forest with the young wolf. Hrimhari looked over his shoulder one last time, hoping that the presence he sensed would not be problematic.

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><p>.<p>

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**Manhattan**

**John Jameson, Man-Wolf**

**Manhattan:**

**428 Greene Street**

**SoHo**

The Thing turned to the Man-Wolf whose howling seemed to intensify a hundred-fold with the Scarlet Centurion's fading act. Jameson had gone near animalistic, huddling in the corner and howling as the Scarlet Centurion had been near, but now he was calming some. He rushed over to his teammate, grabbing the morphed Jameson by the shoulders, the Man-Wolf struggling in his grip. "John!" he shouted, shaking his friend slightly, not sure what else to do. "What's wrong, man?"

Jameson's yowl went shrill and then abruptly died in his throat. His eyes went wide as his head jerked about tongue lolling and dripping saliva. Finally his eyes seemed to focus on Grimm.

"Ben…" he said in a wracking, snarling voice. "What…"

"You tell me, pal." Grimm released Jameson as sanity seemed to return to the wolfen form of the once Stargod. "Thought for a minute there I was gonna have ta' take ya ta' the Vet." Grimm noted that the gem had stopped flashing. Was it somehow connected to the Centurion?

The Man-Wolf's gaze faltered as it shifted about the room again as though searching for something. He was breathing hard and Ben thought that he could almost hear the man's heart hammering in his chest. Finally he sagged and Grimm saw that he was reverting back to human, shrinking back to normal-looking flesh and blood.

"I dunno," Jameson said when the change had reversed, leaning against the wall. "I heard this… howling, and it was all I could do not to run out into the streets and follow it to the source. Join the pack…" Jameson took a deep breath, let it out. "Never experienced anything like it before."

"But yer okay now? Got it under control? Yer gem was glowin'. It supposed to do that?"

"Not normally, no. Maybe it was reacting to that loud howling?"

"I didn't hear anything. Is this something we should be concerned with?"

Jameson ran his fingers over the gem after it had stopped glowing. "No, I'm sure it's fine. My body must still be adjusting. Maybe I'm just not fully in tune with the Star God yet."

"Alright, if yer tellin' me you've got it under control, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and trust you." Grimm stood and offered his hand, helping Jameson back to his feet. "You need help, lemme know. Right now we got another pound a' fat on the fire.

.

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><p>.<p>

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**Alaska**

_**"I am older and more powerful that Fenrir! I am wiser and more regal than Lupa! I am more vicious than Amarok! Bow before your new goddess: Asena!"**_

This week had not gone as Jack Russell would have hoped. All he wanted to do was enjoy a beer and relax. Was that too much to ask? Why was his life constantly getting derailed by supernatural occurrences and insane lunatics? He should be at home right now watching the ballgame, not standing face to face with a wolf goddess who wanted to devour the sun.

_**"Who dares to insult me with this gathering of false wolves!" **roared the massive female wolf, her sky blue fur rippling in the wind. **"This is an affront to the name of Asena! You mortals are not worthy of the gift of the wild!"**_

The she-wolf tilted her head towards the night sky and howled once more.

The gathered townspeople, who have been magically transformed into pseudo werewolves, stood frozen. As the howl grew louder, they began to scream in pain. One by one, the gems embedded in their necks shattered into dust. The townspeople fell unconscious to the ground, returned to their human form.

Jack was franticly trying to come up with plan of action. He fought a Wolf Demon before, but that was more of an internal mental battle instead of a full on physical war. He's crossed paths with Morgan Le Fay before, so this shouldn't be too far out of his realm of experience. Of course, he did have Iron Man there to do most of the work. There was no Iron Man to help him this time. There was only..

"Dredmund! I don't want to die out here in the middle of nowhere, so this is the part where we team up! You caused all of this, now how do we _**stop **_it?"

Dredmund had a dumbstruck expression on his face as he tried to comprehend what has just happened. For years he has been haunted by dreams of regaining godlike powers. He had devised a plan that would finally satisfy his obsession, but in the eleventh hour, it was snatched away by the meek, scared little girl who didn't even _**want**_ the gift that Dredmund had coveted.

"That power should be mine.. she stole it from me!"

"Let's not get hung up on who took who's power. Just focus on coming up with a plan where she doesn't kill us."

"That power should be _mine_!" screamed Dredumd.

The large wolf pounced on Dredmund, pinning him against a tree with her clawed hand.

**"_You dare?_" **bellowed the great beast. _**"Imprudent mortal. This power is mine alone. My vessel is just that: a vessel. She does not posses my power, she is just the doorway that grants me entry into your reality."**_

The wolf bared it's fangs in Dredmund's face. _**"You, foolish as you are, believed what you wanted to believe: that this ritual would grant you godlike power. If you would have translated the spell more carefully, you would have realized the ritual's true nature was to bind me with an avatar of this world. The spell would not have worked on you, because you do not posses wolven blood in your veins. I can only be bound to a mortal with true blood of the wolf."**_

All the air leaves Dredmund's body as he realizes the power he so desperately sought could never have been his in the end, no matter what he had done.

_**"I walked this plane of reality with the great wolves long before man first appeared, now I am back to claim this realm as my own. All who possess the blood of the wolf will be free to control this world, after we have devoured the meek. Starting with you."**_

Asena opened her jaws wide, advancing toward Dreadmund's face. Suddenly, a large chunk of wood slammed into the she-wolf's face. She turned, her eyes burning with rage.

_**"Who dares?"**_

"Hey bitch, nobody's eating the sun, let alone any humans, while I'm around!"

Jack was standing there, wielding a tree trunk as a club. Asena began to grow larger, tossing Dredmund aside as she walked towards Jack. She circled around, now towering over him.

_**"You are not descendant from me, but you are of the wolf. You are considered one of my children in this world. Do not defy me."**_

Jack looked up at Asena, who was now twenty feet tall. Jack swung the tree trunk again, but she held up her paw, smashing it into splinters as it struck her.

"I think I'm going to need a bigger stick," mumbled Jack, as Asena reached down and lifted him up, face to face with her.

_**"I have only a small fraction of my true power, but it is more than enough to deal with you. Each moment that passes, more and more of my influence pours into this plane of reality. Soon I will swallow the sun and bring about an age of lunar majesty! This whole world will tremble at the might of my power!"**_

"I don't know about that, but I _am_ trembling at the might of your bad breath!"

Jack kicked the wolf goddess under the chin, snapping her head back. Asena threw Jack down onto the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Jack struggled to get up as Arena was on all fours, circling him again. Her breath came out as ragged clouds of smoke in the cold night air. Her eyes cut into Jack as she unleashed a low growl that vibrated the earth beneath his feet.

"Dredmund, if you are going to **_do_** something, now would be a good time!"

Dredmund outstretched his arms, summoning a strong gust of wind, knocking Asena away from Jack.

"In the city, my druidic magic wasn't strong, so I relied on science. But here, the power of nature is stronger and more pure than I have ever encountered!"

As she was distracted by Dredmund, Jack ran towards Asena. He leapt off the ground, landing on her back. She tried to shake Jack off, but Dredmund increased his attack. Dredmund used wind to blow pinecones, tree branches, and other debris. Vines rose from the ground and tangled around her feet. Pillars of water crashed down from a nearby river. The earth itself quaked beneath her feet.

While Asena was fighting off the onslaught of nature, Jack was holding onto her fur for dear life. He slowly climbed his way up her back, making his way toward her throat. Asena shredded the vines and knocked away the tree debris as she steadily advanced on Dredmund.

Dredmund reached out and drew upon the power of the untarnished wilderness that surrounded him. The nature magics flowed through him as he redoubled his efforts, unleashing the full fury of the elements at the wolf goddess.

Jack was making his way toward Asena's head, but it had become a grueling affair, as he was also a victim of the collateral damage from the assault. Jack was being clobbered by razor sharp shards of ice, large chunks of lumber, and heavy thorny vines, he was trying his best not to pass out, let alone reach his destination.

Asena had weathered Dredmund's onslaught and was upon him. She raised her paws to bring down a killing blow, but Jack had reached her neck. Making sure he had a good grip on Asena's fur so he didn't fall, Jack reached out with his other hand, grabbing the gem embedded in her throat, and removing it with a mighty pull.

_**"No! What have you done?"**_

Jack jumped off Asena and grabbed Dredmund, carrying him away. Asena screeched with an otherworldly noise. She had a panicked expression on her face as she looked down at her paws. Blue light glowed from them, and streams of blue light flowed out from her body, flowing into the gem Jack held. Her fur changed in color from blue to gold as she shrank back to normal size. Soon, Alice had returned to her human form, laying in the snow where Asena had been standing moments before.

Dredmund looked at the gem in Jack's hand, which was still blue instead of it's original red color. "Without a human host, there was no link to our world, and Asena's spirit returned to her own realm of existence."

"God damn, I need a beer."

Alice's eyes blinked open and she saw Jack standing above her.

"You didn't hurt me," she said. "And you didn't let me hurt anyone. You kept your promise. Thank you."

"Yeah well.. it sure as hell wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. But.. you're welcome. Now, to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Jack laid the gem down on a stone. He picked up a large rock and smashed it down on the gem. The gem doesn't break, but the rock cracked in half.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Jack picked up the gem and chucked it off the side of the mountain, down into a river valley. Jack looked back to see Dredmund down on his knees, gazing off into the distance.

"The wolf has forsaken me," whispered Dredmund. "In this clumsy human form, I feel as though I am blind and deaf, my senses so dulled by human limitations."

"Did you see what you just did?" asked Jack. "You went toe to toe with a god and you lived to tell about it. You controlled the power of the elements. You've got all the power you'll ever need, just let the wolf thing go, after two failed attempts, it's not meant to be."

"It's all I've dreamed of since I first tasted it, how can I go on now? I'm just a man!"

Jack held out his hand to Dredmund.

"There is nothing wrong with that. I'm just a man too."

Dredmund looked up at Jack's outstretched hand and then turned his head away.

"Leave me to my fate, Jacob Russoff. If I can't live with the power of the wolf, I don't want to live with the limitations of man."

"Have it your way. Just don't ever let me see you again. The next time we cross paths is going to be our last."

Jack turned and started walking away. Alice trotted along after him.

"Are you just going to leave him there?" asked Alice.

"He's either going to sit out here and freeze to death, or he's going to come to his senses and go on with his life. It's his choice to make, not mine. The only person who can save Dredmund.. is himself."

.

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* * *

><p>.<p>

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**Epilogue One**

Jack and Alice are eating lunch at a dinner in town.

"It's creepy the way nobody remembers anything that happened."

Jack took a bite out of his steak sandwich. "I think it's better that way."

"Maybe you're right. So, I'm flying back to New York tonight. Do you want me to buy you a ticket too?"

"Well, I was planning on making a pit-stop while I was on the west coast, so I won't be going back to New York right away."

"Do you need me to buy you a car?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? You've already bought me new clothes and lunch."

"It's not a big deal. My family has a lot of money. A lot. Let me do this for you. Besides, what are you going to do? Hitchhike all the way down the coast?"

"That was my plan, yeah."

"That's a horrible plan, Jack! Let me buy you a car, a bus ticket, whatever you need. I owe you far more than I'll ever be able to repay."

"Well, I guess if you're going to insist," said Jack with a sly smile, "there _**is**_ something you can buy me after all."

A few hours later, Jack Russell was speeding down the highway on a new motorcycle. He didn't want to feel like he was taking advantage of Alice, but she wouldn't relent until he allowed her to buy him transportation. She had suggested a car, but a bike was more his style. To his credit, he didn't buy the most expensive model on the lot, just the coolest looking one.

Jack passed by a sign that said "Los Angeles 900 miles".

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><p>.<p>

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**Epilogue Two**

A wolf was in the forest, digging and pawing at the ground. After several moments, it uncovered a glowing blue gem from under the snow, dirt, and leaves. The wolf picked up the gem in its mouth, then started to whimper as it slunk into the dark recesses of the forest.

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><p>.<p>

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**Next Issue: **Come back for Giant Sized Werewolf by Night #1, as Jack travels to his old home: Los Angeles. He meets some old faces you would expect, and maybe some you wouldn't expect. Family reunions, beer and strippers, witches, lost loves, little red riding hood, exotic dancing, this one has it all.

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><p>.<p>

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**Bark at the Moon**

_Scene with the Thing helped by Curt Fernlund_


	4. Giant Size 1: Days Gone By

**Giant Size Werewolf by Night #1**

**"Days Gone By"**

**by Alexander Ritter**

* * *

><p><strong>L.A.<strong>

**Today**

I spent the last few days on the road, driving my brand new motorcycle down the highway from Alaska to Los Angeles. The deeper I traveled into the city, the more I realized it had been too long since I've been "home". I have my reasons for living in New York now, but I lived in L.A. for the majority of my life, and I still miss it.

After being distracted by a little bit of sightseeing, I ended my journey at the front door of my sister Lissa's house, in one of the more upscale neighborhoods. Lissa married into a rich family, and had ended up money from our family as well.

I knocked on the door and waited. I stood there for what seemed like forever. If I hadn't seen cars in the driveway, I may have assumed nobody was home. The door eventually opened as I was greeted by my seventeen year old niece, Nina.

"Sorry," she apologized, "the maid was supposed to answer the door, I don't know where's she's at right now. Come on in."

I was impressed that Nina answered the door at all. I love my sister, but she spoils this kid so bad, it's sick. Nina has never really had to work for anything, living a privileged life. Everything she wanted was handed to her. I would have imagined her yelling for the maid to answer the door, without getting up to do it herself.

I don't know if Lissa spoils her so much because she's trying to compensate for not being a part of Nina's life for the first half of it, or what. It wasn't like that was Lissa's fault, it was a matter of circumstance.

Lissa had been thirteen, Vincenzo had been fifteen when the two met. They were just a couple of stupid kids, with raging hormones. The next thing you know, Lissa was a teen mom before it was the cool thing to do. Problem was, Vincenzo and his family were from Italy, and only staying in L.A. for a short time.

Vincenzo's family had already planed to leave before we found out about Lissa being pregnant. His father owned an entertainment company over there, he had moved his family here just long enough to oversee the expansion of the US offices. After Lissa gave birth to her daughter, Vincenzo's family took the kid back to Italy with them.

It wasn't the most ideal situation, but Lissa couldn't go to Italy with them, and she wasn't equipped to be a single mom that young. Lissa and Vincenzo kept in close contact though the years because they really did love each other. Years later, Vincenzo moved back to the US to expand on the company he inherited from his father. He married Lissa and the whole family had been living here ever since.

Luckily for Vincenzo and Nina, they had missed out on all the "werewolf" excitement. He had returned after my first few transformations, and shortly after Lissa had been cured of _her_ curse. With all the shit Lissa had survived in that time, she deserved to live a normal life and I was happy for her.

"Mom!" Nina screamed across the house, "It's Uncle Jack!"

Lissa came running around the corner and looked into the living room. When she saw me, she tackled me and hugged me.

"Jack! Oh my god, it's good to see you! What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood, Figured I should stop by and see how everyone was doing."

"What are you doing out on the west coast?"

"Oh, you know, stopping Armageddon, the normal stuff I do Tuesday nights. There was this crazy purple druid who accidentally summoned a blue wolf goddess from another dimension that was going to eat the sun and kill all of humanity, or something.* I fixed everything, so it's cool now. I think."

_* Marvel Omega's Werewolf By Night 1-3_

Nina looked at me like I was crazy, but Lissa just nodded and smiled, knowing exactly the kind of adventure I had just been on.

"You look like you've been through hell. Do you want to use one of our showers? Are you going to stay for dinner? Do you need a fresh pair of clothes? How long are you in town?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down sis. I would love a hot shower, and dinner sounds good too. I was really just on my way though town, I just wanted to stop in to say "hi" before I headed back to New York."

"Everyone has been visiting us recently. Topaz was just here last week to check up on us."

Topaz.

It's been a while since I've heard her name. Hell, I haven't even talked to her in a couple of years. In that time, I had pushed her to the back of my mind, but hearing my sister mention her name brought old memories flooding back.

hr

**L.A. **

**Years ago**

It hadn't been long ago when I thought I saw Topaz die. Looking down at her lifeless body, the first thought that crossed my mind was "I never told her I loved her". Fortunately for me, the whole thing had all turned out to be a delusion, as Topaz was alive and well. But I had still never worked up the courage to say those words.

Today was the day. I wanted to try this once before. It had been the perfect set-up too. After gaining control over my wolf self, I took Topaz on a trip to New York to "celebrate". My real motivation for the trip never came to fruition.

At the time I was on the whole stupid "hero" kick, and decided to break up a crime we witnessed on the way to a Broadway show. I even ended up teaming with Iron Man. Iron Man! How cool was that? But man, I found out being a hero was nowhere near as easy as the Avengers made it look. The whole incident had derailed my original plan with Topaz, but now I had a second crack at it.

We were back in L.A. together, enjoying a rare night off. The world wasn't falling apart, neither one of us were being summoned away to stop a reality shattering event, it was just me and her together in the moonlight.

We'd taken advantage of the clear, cool night by having a campfire out on one of the hills, near the outskirts of the city. We spent the night stargazing, as the fire crackled nearby. I felt Topaz's body leaning against mine as we huddled together, my arms wrapped around her body, her head resting on my shoulder.

I had faced all manor of creature since my first night as a werewolf. Living Vampires, Moon Knights, mad scientists, insane sorcerers, zombies, and things that defy any kind of description or classification. I've crossed paths with them all, and lived to complain about it. So why then, was the notion of something as simple as speaking a few words, terrifying me?

"Topaz? I uh.. there is something I wanted to.."

I took a deep breath and held Topaz out in front of me so we were looking eye to eye.

"I need to tell you something."

Topaz smiled and looked into my eyes, waiting for me to continue. God, her eyes were so beautiful. I had a few relationships in the past, but they were all physical and superficial, just like a lot of things in Los Angeles. With Topaz, it was the first time I felt something deeper. I finally forced the words out of my mouth, barley a whisper.

"I.. I love you."

"I know."

I laughed, nervously.

"You know? That's all you have to say about it?"

"Jack, you know that aside from my mystic talents, I am also incredibly empathetic, I know people's emotions. You've been screaming it at the top of your lungs emotionally for quite some time. I've been waiting for you to verbalize it."

"..and?"

"It's about time. I love you too, Jack Russell!"

Topaz hugged me, and I started to believe I might be able to pull this caper off after all. I held her close, feeling the warmth of her body, the beating of her heart, taking in her scent. I could have held her like this forever, almost forgoting the second part of my plan.

"We've been though a lot together, Topaz. I would have been dead ten times over if you weren't there for me. I feel like we've reached an ending of an adventure, and we are ready to start another chapter. I could have never made that journey without you, and I don't want to have to make any other journeys without you. So.."

I reached into my pocket and closed my hand around the object I had carried with me for several months. I had wanted to do this for so long, and now the time was here. I pulled the object out of my pocket and held it out for Topaz to see, as I dropped down to one knee.

"Topaz.. I'm asking you.. will you marry me?"

Topaz looked at me and I could see tears began to form. After she was able to breath again, she managed to speak.

"Yes!"

* * *

><p><strong>L.A.<strong>

**Today**

Those were good days, the best of my life. Back when I could control myself during a full moon, when I had a family and friends. You never know how good they are, until they're gone and you can never have them back.

I must have reeked to high heaven when I showed up on Lissa's doorstep, like a sad pathetic stray dog who spent all day digging in the trash. She was polite enough not to say anything, but I know that Nina had to bite her tongue not to tell me that I looked like shit and smelled even worse.

I was happy to get a nice hot shower after my Alaskan adventure. Back at my apartment, I would be lucky if my shower just had hot water running through it. Lissa's shower was larger than my whole bathroom, it had seats, vents in the ceiling that would mimic rain or mist, and multiple showerheads. Needless to say, I took as much time as I could to soak it all in.

That night's dinner was even better than the shower. After living off a steady diet of noodles, baloney sandwiches, mac & cheese, and beer, a five course meal made by a personal chef was one of the best things I've ever eaten. During dinner, Lissa and I reminisced about our adventures growing up together. We had some fun times, and some terrifying times. Nina listened intently to our wild tales of demons, witches, vampires, and monsters.

During the dessert course, Lissa received a phone call and excused herself from the room. The way Nina was looking at me, I knew she had something on her mind.

"You know, Mom talks about you all the time" she told me. "You're her hero, and she loves you. Why don't you just move back here to L.A. so you can be near your family? What's holding you to New York?"

It was a tempting idea, one I had considered before. I mean, the weather and the people in L.A. are a lot more pleasant when compared to New York. But I have my reasons for living there.

"Let me ask you something Nina. How many different stories have you heard about all the weird adventures that your mom and I have been involved in?"

"A lot!"

"How many times have you seen anything like that with your own eyes?"

Nina became silent as she suddenly realizes, for the hundreds of crazy stories, she's never experienced any of them herself.

"So.. what? Are you guys exaggerating, or is it all just made up, or...?"

"No. It all happened, and it's still happening. To _me_. Your mom was the lucky one. She doesn't turn into a monster for three nights every month anymore."

"That's debatable."

"No listen, I'm being serious here. Everything that we've been through has been because of the wolf. Your mom has been possessed, transformed, manipulated, assaulted, and almost killed more times that I can count. That was, until she was cured and I moved away. Do you see? I promised to keep Lissa safe, but the only way I can do that, is to stay as far away from her as I can. I had to move the other side of the continent, I'm miserable and alone, but it's worth it because at least you guys can all live a normal happy life."

"Wow. I didn't realize that. I'm sorry."

"Just don't tell your mom, ok? I don't want her to worry about me, or feel like it's her fault."

"I hate to tell you Uncle Jack, but she already worries about you all the time. Don't lose any sleep over this conversation, it's just between you and me."

"Thanks kid. I appreciate it."

* * *

><p><strong>L.A.<strong>

**Today**

I had considered leaving L.A. right away. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control (really!), I was delayed on my trip back to New York.

On my way down the highway, I passed a large well-lit billboard proclaiming "hundreds of beautiful girls" every week. The billboard had also announced that it was a "gentleman's club", but I've been to enough of these establishments to know it was rarely inhabited by anybody who could be mistaken for "gentlemen", myself included. The temptation of nude girls and beer was to much to resist. I drove off the exit listed on the sign, heading for the club.

The only fee to get into the club was to buy a drink cups. The cup was exuberantly overpriced, however, the cup got unlimited refills during the visit. "_The more I drink, the more I save_" was my reasoning as I set to work, trying to drain everything they had on tap before I left. I got my first fill-up, a particularly potent beer called Devil Dog, and took a seat along the outer edge of the club. I wasn't particularly interested in getting into the middle of the action, content to sit back and enjoy my drink.

It wasn't long before I noticed everyone seemed to be piling all their money on one dancer in particular. Taking a closer look, I realized that I recognized the girl. I that point, I also realized my bad luck curse, "Russell Luck" if you will, has struck again. Story of my life, always in the wrong place at the wrong time. I bet real heroes like Spider-Man never have rotten luck like I do.

The platinum blonde who was attracting so much attention was a girl I knew as Dansen Macabre. What her real name was, I had no idea. I don't think anyone did. Her abilities were linked to her dancing. She could control the minds of anyone who watched her dance, and there were also rumors that she had a dance that would kill whoever witnessed it, and one that would make her invisible to any kind of detection. We had spent time together as teammates in a group called "The Night Shift".

Ah, the Night Shift. Think of it as Clive Barker's answer to the Avengers. Back while I lived in L.A., a guy named The Shroud asked me to a part of the freak show he was putting together. He had this insane idea to bring together a group of criminals to fight crime. The twist was, only Shroud and I knew we were the good guys. Everyone else on the team thought we were a new criminal group trying to carve our own niche in the L.A. underworld, so it didn't seem odd to anyone that we constantly targeted the criminal element.

The best part was, the whole group was pretty much misfits, monsters, and outcasts. When I showed up, nobody even flinched. In fact, I fit right in. It was completely different from the first time Iron Man took me to Avengers mansion. Jarvis almost pissed his pants when I walked in the door. Mind you, this is the guy who made breakfast for the likes of Hulk, Thor, Mantis, and Vision, yet I'm the one who freaked him out? Didn't do much for my self esteem.

I really loved being a part of the Night Shift. Back then, things were going good with Topaz, my sister was happy with her family, and I had a group of people who I could call my "friends". Too bad things started going downhill after that.

When I left the Night Shift, it wasn't on the best terms. Maybe I'd be able to leave quietly and she would never even know I had been here. I'd just finish my beer and make a beeline for the exit.

It was just then that her eyes met mine.

So much for that plan.

The song ended and Dansen Macabre hopped off the stage. She ignored her throngs of admirers and walked right over to my table, sitting down across from me. There were several moments of uncomfortable silence as we both just sat there, seeing each other for the first time in years.

"So you ended up going back to being a stripper in the end, huh?" I asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Exotic DANCER," she corrected. "A stripper is an exhibitionist whore, a dancer is an artist."

"So you're an artist."

"Yes. When you witness me dance, I paint on the canvas of your soul."

"That's really deep," I said, as I took another drink of beer. "But I doubt any of these guys here give a fuck about artistry. They just want to see skin."

"You'd be surprised."

"I doubt it. I mean, I certainly didn't come here expecting to be blown away by the subtly of the choreography. I just wanted to see some tits. None of these guys here strike me as connoisseurs of fine arts."

"You haven't changed a bit, have you? Still the same old lewd, drunk, filthy beast."

"That's part of my charm, but I have changed. I'm way more miserable and cynical now."

A smile crept over her face as she studied me, trying to figure out if I was joking or being serious.

"Would you like me to dance for you?" she offered.

"You know, your dancing doesn't do anything for me. I'm immune, remember?"

"How could I forget. I wasn't talking about trying to use my powers on you. I was talking about a personal dance, just for you."

"Yeah, I know what you meant," I said, with a smirk, "my answer still stands."

Dansen Macabre frowned. I'm pretty sure I insulted her. "Have it your way. You know, I've kept in contact with just about all of the Night Shift except for you, and Shroud of course."

"Maybe there's a reason for that. Like the fact I left because I didn't like the direction the team was going after Shroud disappeared and Hangman took over."

"Hangman didn't want you on the team anyway, he knew you were too much of a hero. Truth be told, I'm surprised you never ended up with the Avengers."

I had to laugh. "Honestly? I don't know how I didn't end up with their West Coast branch either. I'm sure Moon Knight and Iron Man would have put in a good word for me. Looking back, I'm glad that never happened. I'm really not as much of a hero type, like people seem to think I am. I'm trying to stay away from the costumed crew and keep to myself."

"So, I guess inviting you to a Night Shift reunion is out of the question?"

I thought about it and sighed. "You guys, honest to god, were almost like a family to me. When the Night Shift was together, it was one of the only times I "belonged" to something and didn't feel like an outcast. If we were to get together and reminisce about the "good old days" over a few rounds of beers, I'd consider it, but I know if you were putting the group back together, it'd be for something I don't want any part of. Besides, I thought you hated me."

"I did for a time. You almost killed me, Jack. I tried to help you, and you tried to eat me. If Shroud hadn't been there to subdue you, I don't know if I would have been able to fight you off on my own."

There was a time that I asked her to use her mind control powers on me during the full moon, to try and keep my animal side in check. It worked for a time, but the beast must have built up an immunity to her power or something, because, like she said, she was almost breakfast for the beast once.

"It was as much my fault as it was yours," she admitted. "I've realized that now. It was arrogant of me to think I could control you under the full moon. It's already harder for me to impose my will on those who have a magical nature, and I still don't know how I affect animal minds. With you being mystical and animal, I'm honestly surprised it worked for as long as it did before you attacked me."

"You wouldn't have tried if I hadn't asked you to in the first place."

"Are you _sure_ you don't want join me tonight, for old times sake? There's a mobster out here that has a load of smuggled diamonds and jewelry in a warehouse, with minimal security. He's foolish enough to think nobody would ever know about it, aside from him and his henchmen. Lucky for me, my dancing causes loose lips, and one of my patrons freely shared the information with me."

"Still not interested. I'm not a hero, but I'm not a criminal either. As a matter of fact, I was just about to leave."

Before I can stand up and hightail it out of there, another familiar voice cuts me off.

"Jack? Is that you?"

I recognized the scent and the voice before I ever turned my head, both were burned into my memory from years earlier. It was another former member of the Night Shift. Her name was Sybil Dvorak, also known as Gypsy Moth.

She smiled and hugged me. I wanted to run away as fast as I could, but I briefly returned the hug and quickly broke away.

"Nobody told me you where here," I said, shooting Dansen a dirty look. She smiled and slunk away, back to her adoring fans. I could tell she got a thrill out of seeing how uncomfortable it made me to see Sybil again, and I realized she had intentionally failed to warn me Sybil was here.

"Sooo.. what are you doing here?" I asked, politely making conversation while plotting the quickest escape route.

"I own the place," she replied. "You know I've got places like this all over the country. What are the odds that of all the clubs in the world, you'd blindly wander into mine? Some luck, huh?"

"Yeah, some luck."

"A better question would be, what are you doing here? This is a long way from New York."

"I was in the neighborhood. It's a long story. You know me, and how crazy my life is. I'd love to catch up on what we've been up to, but I'm really running late. I should've left about ten minutes ago."

"That's to bad Jack. I wish you could stay a little longer. Maybe we could've had some fun, I always had a good time when I was with you."

"Maybe next time I'm in town!" I lied, as I ran out the front door of the club. _Not on your life, lady. I told you years ago, our "fun" times were over, and I meant it._

* * *

><p><strong>Night Shift Tower<strong>

**Years ago**

Topaz never liked the fact that I was a part of the Night Shift. She would've preferred I had talked Iron Man into getting me a spot on the Avenger's West Coast team. But from my point of view, the Night Shift was the perfect team to be a part of, aside from the whole "It's full of criminals who don't know they're really fighting crime" angle.

Don't get me wrong, if I was with the Avengers, I would've got to try run a panty raid on Tigra, but that was really the **only** selling point. Hawkeye was a cocky asshole, Scarlet Witch was a stuck up bitch, Vision creeped me out, and Wonder Man was one of those self obsessed Hollywood types that I hate. I would have been the outcast on that team, where with the Night Shift, I fit right in.

The whole operation should've never worked. The Night Shift _should_ have fallen apart the first time we were all in the same room together. I had already fought a couple of these guys in the past, and even Shroud's second in command, Dansen Macabre, had tried to kill **him **once before. I don't know how he did it, but Shroud made it work, and work _**well**_. We were a great team with great chemistry. Unfortunately, the chemistry between me and one certain member of the team was _too_ good.

Gypsy Moth.

I had been born in Romania, although my mom moved to America shortly afterwards. Sybil had lived in Romania for most of her life before falling in love with an American actor and moving to US so she could marry him. She was wildly insecure about their relationship and constantly thought he was cheating on her. He had died of heart failure, and Sybil inherited all his money.

She did what any respectable, responsible widow would do.

She spent all the money on drugs, starting up sex clubs, and created a hedonistic cult devoted to both.

Sybil was dedicated to doing whatever felt pleasurable to her. She was also smoking hot when she wasn't wearing that goofy "moth" themed costume, and her Romanian accent was mesmerizing. There was one time when we had pulled off an especially successful mission, and everyone was back at the Tower of Shadows, celebrating. I ended up getting wasted, and I'd like to say Sybil took advantage of me, but I can't.

I let her do it.

I could've pushed her off of me, told her to buzz off, made a point that I was engaged.. but I didn't. She had been rubbing up on me all night, and tried to make out with me. Instead of packing my bags and heading home, I gave in and kissed her back. One thing led to another, and we ended up back in her room in the Tower.

And it didn't just happen that one time when I was drunk. I went back for more later, when I wasn't completely smashed. Each and every time, it got more and more intense. I just couldn't stop myself, there was something about her, it was almost like an addictive thing. I didn't love her, and she didn't love me, but I needed to get my "fix".

Sybil's room in the Tower of Darkness was half medieval torture dungeon, half fashion studio. The dungeon part was self explanatory, that was the kind of thing she got off on, mentally. Now the fashion studio part might need a little more explanation.

You see, her mutant power was telekinetic based. She could manipulate mater with her mind, but somehow there was a tactile feedback. I'm not an expert on superpowers, and the rules, but for some reason she could "feel" whatever she touched with her mental powers. That's why she never really used her powers on hard or rough mater, she almost exclusively used it on fabrics, and why she was semi-obsessed with clothes and costumes.

On one of our slow weeks, we were all going stir crazy. With no "missions" to undertake, everyone amused themselves the best they could. Sybil had me waiting in her room, in werewolf form. It was an odd request, but I obliged. It wasn't close to being a full moon, so I felt pretty confident that I'd be able to maintain control of myself. Once Gypsy Moth entered the room, I was having second thoughts about how well I was going to be able to maintain control.

Like I mentioned earlier, Sybil likes the way fabrics feel. That's why a lot of times she would be fully dressed in some sort of elaborate costume, instead of half naked. On this occasion, she had fashioned herself a red ridding hood costume. The irony was amazing.

Sybil sauntered over to where I was standing and put her arms on my shoulders. She had that look in her eyes, the ones a predator gets before it devours it's prey. If I was the big bad wolf, shouldn't I be the one stalking her, and not the other way around?

She made a big show of walking around me and posing. She launched into so speech that I half paid attention to, something about my big eyes, my big tongue and how she hoped it was "all the better to eat her with" or something, but I was to distracted by the fact she was using her telekinetic powers to mentally stroke all the fur on my body at the same time. It felt amazing, and because of Sybil's powers, it felt good for her too.

She glanced down, and started sliding her hand down my chest. "My, what a big.."

"I can't take it anymore!" I finally told her. She had me worked up, but so was the beast. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to control myself if this went on much longer. "I know you love doing the theatrical thing, but we gotta cut to the chase, or I'm going to lose my mind!"

Sybil smiled. There was that predatory twinkle in her eyes again. "That is fine with me. Since you played along, I'm going to do something you'll enjoy," she said, sliding down and getting on her knees.

Three rooms over, Dansen Macabre was laying on a couchm reading a book. She briefly glanced up as my earsplitting howl shook the walls of the tower. She rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book.

* * *

><p><strong>L.A.<strong>

**Today**

Staying in L.A. had been tempting, until I started to realize all the things I left behind, I did for a reason. I wanted to spare my sister the misery that comes with my curse, and I wanted to leave the bad memories behind. It's funny how I tend to clearly remember all the negative stuff, instead of the good times.

It felt good to be out on the open road again. Driving down the highway, leaving all my worries miles behind in the mirror, it gave me a feeling of being free. I guess you could say riding my motorcycle gave me the same feeling my animal side has while it's running though the forest under the night sky.

I was making good time, but then I pulled off to the side of the road. A sign by the side of the road alerted me to the fact that I was now leaving L.A., and it was almost three thousand miles to New York. It was going to be a good three day trip, at least, depending on how much trouble I wander into between here and there. Trust me, most of my road trips end up with me in some sort of confrontation, be it Ghost Rider, The Braineaters, Sabertooth, or Demons.. it's ALL happened before.

Then, I made a decision that I still can't believe. I turned my motorcycle around and headed off in the direction that I just came from.

hr

**Night Shift Tower**

**Years ago**

"I'm going to call it off."

My companion, Tick Tock, looked at me inquisitively. "Your marriage, or.."

"No! This thing with Sybil. I don't even know what to call it," I said, as I downed my seventh beer of the night.

"Most people call it an affair."

"Yeah, well.. it's over. I can't even believe I went through with it in the first place, let alone let it continue this long. What's wrong with me?"

Tick Tock was one of those oddballs that I was telling you about, one of my teammates on the Night Shift. He was a pudgy little guy with thick glasses. He would see different realities, and used his power to strategize the best course of action in any given situation.

"This event is not unique to you friend, in eight of the ten realities that I can see now, you slept with her."

"We'll at least I'm not morally bankrupt in every reality. What did I do in the other two?"

"Uh.. well in one, everyone is a zombie. In the other, you were already dead. Dansen Macabre slit your throat with a silver dagger while you slept."

I just looked at Tick Tock in disbelief.

"But you should be relived to know that Shroud avenged you shortly after."

"Yeah, that makes me feel much better 'Tock."

He tried to make me feel better, letting me know that my decision was normal, for me, but all he did was let me know I was a scumbag in every reality. I drank several more beers, trying to work up the courage to go tell Sybil that I was done. I just hoped it didn't backfire, getting this drunk was how I ended up in this mess to begin with.

I went to her room, determined to hold my ground.

"I can't do this anymore."

She seemed slightly disappointed. "You're not having fun anymore?" she asked.

"No, that's not it. It's just.. I don't love you, Sybil. I know I love Topaz. It's fun while it happens, but afterwards, I feel horrible. This guilt is just eating me up from inside."

"Of course you don't love me Jack. I don't love you either. You weren't getting love confused with lust, were you?"

"No, we were clear from the start that this wasn't about emotions, it was about physicality."

"Hmmm, it certainly was," purred Sybil. "Pure animal instinct. Wild, uninhibited, raw desire. I never really experienced anything quite like it before."

"I'm calling it off now."

"That's fine, Jack. I told you we could stop any time you wanted. When it stops being fun, it's time to move on. We can also pick up where we left off, if you choose."

"Don't count on it. As a matter of fact, I think I'm leaving the Night Shift all together."

"Because of this?"

"No.. not entirely. I'm leaving because this isn't the same operation I agreed to in the first place. Shroud has gone M.I.A, and Hangman is taking over. He's made it very clear he doesn't even want me in the group, so I'm going to leave on my own. Maybe I'll see you guys around some time."

* * *

><p><strong>L.A. <strong>

**Today**

I don't know why I'm doing this. I swore to myself that I wasn't doing the hero thing ever again. I had almost made it out of the city, all I had to do was give my bike some throttle, and speed off into the night. Instead, I'm sniffing around the back alleys, following Dansen's trail from the strip club to the warehouses she had mentioned.

The scent lead me to a warehouse on the edge of a river. I climbed up the side of the warehouse, and was able to see inside though the broken glass of a skylight. I took a minute taking stock of the situation. Dansen Macabre was there all right, along with about a half dozen thugs she "recruited" from the club. They were ransacking the crates in the warehouse, cherry picking the best jewelry and diamonds within, leaving the rest strewn about on the floor.

"I certainly find this one to be irresistible!" cooed Dansen, holding up a necklace. "This one is going into my personal collection." The necklace had a large decorative snake with diamond eyes.

"It's a snake eating it's own tail," remarked one of the thugs. "I don't get it. What a stupid snake."

"You dimwit! It's the Ouroboros, this is symbolic, and it's art!"

The thug shrugged his shoulders and Dansen signed heavily, rolling her eyes and placing the necklace in her bag. I had tried to warn her about those guys. I don't know why she would expect any of them to know what she was talking about. I certainly didn't know what the hell an "ouroboros" was. Hell, the only person back in the Night Shift who had any clue about half the stuff she wanted to talk about was Shroud, and she hated his guts. It must be frustrating to not to be able to find many people who can relate to you.

I know how that feels.

I've decided I waited long enough, and that I should strike while everyone was distracted looking for loot. I was hoping the sight of a howling, snarling werewolf, crashing down from a skylight, with broken glass falling all around, would've been enough to scare off a least one of the thugs. No such luck. They all stood their ground as I landed in front of them.

Dansen pointed in my direction as she yelled at her accomplices.

"Protect your mistress! Don't let that beast near me!"

Of course. These guys were under Dansen's spell, so they weren't going to run away from me. They were so enthralled with her, that they'd die for her if she ordered them to. Scare tactics weren't going to work, so I'm going to have to do my best and try not to kill anyone. These guys didn't have the same consideration for me, and weren't making it easy. None of them knew how to fight, their punches and kicks pissed me off more than they hurt me.

I grabbed one guy by the back of the head and smashed his face into the wall. I flung another one off my back, and sent him crashing into a stack of wooden crates. Two other's got their heads smashed together. It was almost fun, something I could handle, a nice break from gods, monsters, and demons. Just some good old fashioned normal street level criminals. Something like the Punisher would take care of. I bet you'd never see The Punisher getting mixed up with demons and supernatural stuff like that. All and all, I was making pretty quick work of Dansen's goons, but she wasn't trying to escape. She stood her ground, watching me as I mopped up the thugs with relative ease.

With her goon squad out of the equation, I turned towards Dansen Macabre.

"So, how do you want to do this?" I asked. "Are you just going to give up, or do we fight, or what?"

Dansen just smiled, and there was something about it that reminded me of all the times Gypsy Moth smiled the same way. That predatory, "I got you!" look in her eyes was the last thing I saw clearly, before it felt like my brain exploded.

_"What the fuck was that?" _was all I could think as I fell to the floor. More of that same intense pain shot in spurts though my head, my ribs, my back. My vision was blurring as I saw Dansen's feet moving closer to me, walking over so she could gloat. She grabbed my snout and forced me to look up into her eyes.

"I thought you might come back to stop me, after you declined to join me. You are a very lucky mutt that Gypsy Moth still has a liking for you. Otherwise, you may have found a silver bullet though your skull, instead of just being beaten to a pulp with a silver crowbar."

She let go of my head and I groaned, rolling over on my back. Through the haze and the blur, I saw one of the thugs bringing the crowbar down upon my head one last time, and then, nothingness.

* * *

><p><strong>Topaz and Jack's apartment<strong>

**Years ago**

Topaz just stood there, looking at me. I just explained to her how I'd been bedding down with Gypsy Moth for the past few months. I told her it was a mistake, and that I wouldn't be doing it anymore. It was the truth, I meant every word of it. There was no way for me to tell what she was thinking, but I wished she would let me know. Standing in silence, I wished she would yell at me, or scream, or slap me, or..

"I forgive you."

Well, that was easier than I thought it would be.

"Thank you. I'm so sorry this happened. I think it was the beast. It's like, my human side wants the emotional connection I have with you, but the beast wanted this other thing that was going on.."

Topaz takes her ring off and holds it out to me. I just looked at it like It's some sort of alien object I've never seen before. My brain finally started working again and I took the ring from her.

"Jack, I love you, but you're not ready for this. You can't blame this on the beast, you _**are**_ the beast. We can still love each other, without being in love with each other. I think the best thing we can do right now is part as friends, and when we meet again it will be as friends."

"You're calling off the engagement?"

"Jack, we've had our time together, but now I've seen that our lives are taking us each in very different directions. I want us to be able to leave on good terms, and not have us continue on this path, to become bitter or resentful. I don't want that, I want to look back on these times we had together with fondness, not regret."

"So this is it."

"Goodbye Jack."

And, that was it. I had called off my affair with Sybil, because I wanted to be committed to Topaz. Topaz broke up with me, and I went from having the best of both worlds, to having nothing at all.

Topaz was right, our lives were going in different directions. She headed off to do her magic thing with Dr. Strange, and we did meet again a few times, as friends just like she said. Seeing her still hurts me, so I've found that I try to avoid running into her if I can help it. It's not the last time I fucked up a relationship, or got my heart broken, but it was the one that hurt me the most.

* * *

><p><strong>L.A.<strong>

**Today**

I was done for the night, knocked out cold. I was embarrassed that common thugs took me out. I can survive against, and get the best of werewolves, druids, and gods, but in the end a street gang is too much for me? I have to give Dansen credit, it was pretty good foresight and planning on her part. The only problem was, while I was done for the night, the beast was just getting started. And boy, was he pissed!

The beast opened its eyes, and saw the woman responsible for its pain standing on the other side of the room. It also remembered that this was the same woman who had tried to control it years earlier, making the beast even angrier.

"Before we part ways," Dansen told her followers, "I want to reward you with one last dance."

The guys all grinned and nodded, two of them even high fived each other. She got a serious look on her face as she concentrated and began her dance. She started by moving her head and shoulders around, subtly, while keeping her gaze locked on the group of men. There was a fire in her eyes, and the group was mesmerized, hypnotized by her every movement.

She arched her back while moving her hips, and soon she was swiveling her arms and gliding around with her legs, her whole body moving with fluidity. As she moved in a circle around the group of men, they never broke eye contract. The beast also watched, not interested in the dance, but instead watching its prey and waiting for the right moment to pounce.

Dansen ended her dance by slowly slinking down to the floor in a crouched position, with her arms stretched far behind her back and her head down. She flipped her head back up, looking at her captive audience. She smiled as they all fell to the ground, dead. I guess I should be thankful that that immunity to her powers right about now. She stood up, breathing heavily, and walked over to the pile of dead bodies that now littered the warehouse floor.

"I can't wait to see how this scene gets explained on the news tomorrow night."

She placed the necklace she coveted around her neck, then started to collect the bags of jewels that had been collected earlier.

"Sorry boys, but I hate to share. None of you really appreciate these pieces anyway, you'd all just pawn them off and spend the money on drugs, and that would be such a waste. Better that they stay in the possession of someone who will appreciate them. Some of these are priceless, just for the craftsmanship alone."

As she bent down to take the bags, the beast decided it was time to strike. It rose off the floor and crouched down, then lunged across the room towards it prey. Dansen yelped in surprise, and slid down into a position that looked as if she was doing the splits, her legs spread apart from each other in a straight line, her body down and arms held out in front of her. Unbelievable flexibility and reflexes, yet she barley slid out of the way.

The beast sailed overhead, causing the beast to crash into a stack of crates. She rolled back up to her feet, every movement graceful. Like a dancer. Disregarding her spoils for the moment, she decided to try for diplomacy, rather than a physical confrontation.

"Jack, I can understand you're very angry with me, but maybe it's not too late to talk this over.."

She might have been able to talk her way out of it with me, but the beast didn't understand, nor care, what she was saying. The beast staggered back from the crates and violently shook off the impact, then turned to face Dansen. Its eyes were filled with rage as its jaws opened, roaring at her. She could see that I wasn't present at all in the eyes, and realized exactly what she was dealing with.

She remembered what the beast had done to her in the past, but to her credit, she got a determined look on her face and stood her ground. She knew there was no way for her to outrun the beast. Even though she knew it wasn't going to be any more effective, she decided to fight back.

If she was fighting me, she would have kicked my ass pretty damn quick, let me tell you. Even her fighting style was a dance. As such, there weren't any "stances", it was just constant movement. I'd never know where a strike or kick was coming from, and she was either constantly dodging or striking. I was pretty sure the beast would make sort work of her.

I was wrong.

Like I said, her fighting style was constant, fluid movement. She was doing pretty good for herself, fighting the beast. She did a backwards cartwheel that buried two feet under the jaw of the beast, snapping its head backwards and stunning him.

Dansen had a confident smile on her face after landing that blow, her initial trepidation melting away as her confidence grew. That confidence quickly faded as the beast's head swung around to face her again, and the memories of her near mauling from years earlier came flooding back. The momentary lapse was all the beast need, as it lunged, jaws open, claws out. It tackled her full force, sending them both crashing though the side of the warehouse and off the side of the pier outside. They both plummeted into the river below and sunk under the surface of the water.

* * *

><p><strong>L.A.<strong>

**Right Now**

Coughing violently, I opened my eyes to see the sun was rising. I had a splitting headache. At first I thought maybe I was hung over, passing out drunk somewhere, but then the memories of the previous night came flooding back. All the memories were clear, until the beast took over. Those memories were foggy, the best way I can describe it, is when you remember you had a dream, but don't remember what the dream was about. I scrambled to my feet and looked around, finding myself on the edge of a riverbank, having no idea how long I'd been there.

This is exactly the reason I have to stay as far away from Lissa as possible. I had been in L.A. for less than a day, that was all it took for the shit to hit the fan, reinforcing that my relocation to New York was the right decision after all. My trip had also reinforced to me that I wasn't they hero type.

Deep down, I think I'm a decent guy, but I've got too many vices. That's not how a hero acts, right? I mean, I bet Iron Man doesn't have a drinking problem like I do, and you wouldn't see him sleeping with every girl that walks across his path, like I have. I need to learn to leave the hero business to the professionals.

Taking a quick look around the riverbank, Dansen Macabre was nowhere to be found. I didn't know if the beast ate her, if she drowned, or if she got away. Whatever the outcome, it wasn't my problem anymore. I was leaving L.A., like I should have in the first place. I shambled off towards the city, in search of my bike, some clothes, and a beer. And not necessarily in that order.

* * *

><p><strong>Bark at the Moon<strong>

Why "Giant Size" instead of 3 separate issues? There are a couple of reasons. "Giant Size Werewolf by Night" was a classic format years ago, they had several of them, so it was a homage to that. Also, by overloading a single issue, I could get through all my ideas in less issues. That was the idea in my head anyway. Plus, it gave me an excuse to write from the classic "Jack's point of view" like all of his solo comics have been, and how a lot of his fiction from other writers has been done.

Would I do another Giant Sized issue? Yes. Would I do it like this? No. In retrospect, I would have just had this be issues 4, 5, and 6 instead of Giant Sized. If another Giant Sized ever happened, it would be another stand alone story, but shorter, with several back-up stories by other writers.

I was going to get through some mail about the first three issues, but it seems to have disappeared! I do remember Meriades Rai being kind enough to write about the first issue, and mentioning that he hoped Jack had a more proactive role instead of people coming to him all the time. Well.. looking at how everything is laid out, I never really noticed it, but the running gag seems to be that Jack wants to be left alone, but he has a constant stream of weirdness coming to him and he just sort of rolls his eyes and says "fine, lets do this and get it over with." The next issue and the next arc after that still keep with that theme, but I guess I never noticed I was using the same hook every time until it was pointed out.

Desmond Reddick mentioned he liked a more dark and gritty Werewolf by Night. Yes, this is set more in the city, and Jack is dirty, lives in a crummy apartment, doesn't have any money, likes to drink beer and smoke. It kind of spins out of me having read Paul Jenkins comics and then Mike McGee and Chris Munn fanfics BEFORE reading all the old issues from the 70s. I think that's where a lot of the influence comes from.

I had CaptainAshley91, Oldwolf81, MarkOne, and a couple other people just give me a "good job, keep it up" type message, so thanks everyone!

* * *

><p><strong>NEXT ISSUE:<strong>

_In the past, Jack has faced off with Dracula, Mr. Hyde, a Basilisk, even the Hunchback. Next issue he faces off with a monster of legend that he has not yet face, and may be too much for him to overcome. Also, Jack reunites with Tessa and is determined to finally have a nice, normal, happy, healthy relationship. I'm SURE nothing could possibly go wrong._


End file.
